The Prophecy Continued
by HopelessRomanticShipper
Summary: Ash and his friends find themselves in the midst of relaxation and paradise when things suddenly take a turn for the worst. Will they're teamwork and faith in each other be enough to come out victorious once again? Or will this time the odds be too stacked against them? Advancedshipping at its finest. A mixture joy, sadness, laughter and sorrow should all be expected.
1. The Invitation

**I'm glad to announce that this is my first advanceshipping story. I'm super excited about it cause I have a good vision and plan for it. Hopefully, you guys bear with me, though *** **sweat-drops** *** haha.**

 **As I said, it's my first, so I would really appreciate any feedback or questions you may have.**

 **A couple of years ago I attempted to start my first fanfic, but failed to continue it. After reading a couple of really good ones here, I thought I would give it a second try.**

 **Withough further adieu, lets begin.**

* * *

"Well buddy, its now or never!" the raven-haired boy said to his trusty Pokémon companion.

"Pika chu pikapi", the electric mouse answered his best friend, the concern evident in his response.

"I know you're nervous bud. Honestly, I am too, but I know we'll get through this together, just as we always have!" trying to instill some confidence, not only for Pikachu but himself as well; he knew what would await them behind those doors and figured a confidence boost could do no harm now.

"Pika…" Pikachu answered, as if saying, "I guess…"

The boy gave his yellow companion a thumb up while flashing that signature grin of his, which although came from the face of a young man who showed a growing maturity through the years, still gave off a sense of pure confidence and happiness.

The young man in front of the pair of doors was no longer the 10 year old boy who began his journey nearly 7 years ago, with little to no experience of the world he was about to explore. He had grown slightly taller and, with the help of his training, appeared to have a more athletic physique that was apparent under his white short sleeve shirt. He ditched his usual blue jeans for a pair of black ones as well as a new set of dark blue trainers. He wore dark blue fingerless gloves and a black vest over his shirt. Of course, no matter how much he matured or changed over the years, the only constant would always be his signature hat, this time a white and blue one with a basic poke ball on the front of the cap.

His face seemed to tan a bit over the years, almost matching the color of his auburn eyes.

"We knew this day would come Pikachu, we can't back down now." Ash said, hands on the door handles ready to face the challenge ahead of them.

Pikachu knew he was right. They were preparing for this day for the past week and his trainer needed his help, now more than ever. Pikachu flashed a thumb up towards his trainer and simply nodded his head.

Ash smiled and nodded back, using both hands to push open the pair of doors in front of them. He took a deep breath and let the shine of the sun hit his face as he slowly opened the doors and stepped outside. Pikachu quickly sped up to his trainer and jumped on his shoulder, ready to face their next challenge just as they began their journey: together.

Then it hit them…

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASH!" a unison shout reached their ears.

The two, who decided to close their eyes before stepping outside, quickly opened them and caught a glance at the scene in front of them. They were standing outside of Professor Oak's Pokémon lab, in front of them a group of people, each easily recognized by the duo, as well as the massive amount of Pokémon all gathered around a sign that read "Happy Birthday Ashy". The boy quickly identified the culprit of the idea to write "Ashy", standing in the midst of the crowd, his feline dark-type by his feet and a wide grin on his face. Towards the bottom of the sign, one could make out the words "and Pikachu!" scribbled in sloppy handwriting.

Because neither Ash nor Professor Oak had any record of Pikachu's birth date, the electric mouse simply decided to adopt Ash's birthday as his own. Unfortunately, it was evident that whoever was helping prepare the sign, forgot this important detail, and had to improvise at the last minute.

They both scanned the crowd and quickly identified each member in the crowd. To the far left stood Paul, Ash's longtime rival throughout the Sinnoh region, arms crossed and a small smirk on his face, followed by Dawn and May, each with a smile from ear to ear, happy to see their old friend back. Next was the red-headed Cerulean City Gym leader Misty, who was standing next to a familiar green-haired assistant to Professor Oak, Tracy. Next to him was his long time traveling partner, and the closest thing Ash had to an older brother, Brock, who unsurprisingly looked just as he always did, a warm smile present on his face. Gary, Ash's childhood best friend and former rival stood next to Brock, holding back a small chuckle as he witnessed the false sense of surprise Ash and Pikachu tried to hold up. Ash's mother Delia stood next to Gary, her eyes watery and on the verge of tears of joy at the sight of her son back home. Finally, towards the far right stood the Pokémon professor himself and owner of the world-renowned lab, smiling at the pair that stood on the stairs beholding the scene in front of him. Behind the group of friends stood all of Ash's Pokémon, each happy to see their trainer and friend after spending quite some time away on his travels.

"Alright Pikachu, this is what we've been practicing for, lets give it our best shot," he whispered into the Pokémon's ear, hoping no one else could hear their short dialogue.

Pikachu simply nodded and took a deep breath…

"What an _**awesome**_ surprise everyone! We had _**absolutely no idea**_ about _**annnnyy**_ of this. We definitely did not already know a few days beforehand!" Ash said as he used all his training from the previous week to muster up a poor attempt at a surprised face.

"Pikaa _**piii**_ chuuu pika chu chu _**pikaaa chu pi ka**_." Just as his trainer, Pikachu mimicked the young boy's face, simply adding his two paws to his cheeks, giving the "shocking" face a completed look.

Almost as if they rehearsed it, the entirety of the crowd in front of them, including the Pokémon, quickly sweat-dropped and dropped to the floor, laughing hysterically at the sight of the two birthday boys attempting to keep their poker faces going.

"Well… so much for the training" Ash said as he let out a deep sigh and slumped his shoulders in defeat.

"Chuu…" Pikachu answered, followed by his own sigh and slumping of the shoulders.

After the crowd gathered themselves and plopped back on their feet, they proceeded to hug and congratulate Ash one by one.

"It's so great to see you again Ash. You definitely look like you've changed a lot this past year" Dawn told her friend after a quick embrace.

"Thanks Dawn, its definitely good to see you too. How did you do in this years Grand Festival?" He asked the blunette coordinator.

She quickly pouted and passed a fist through the air, "I was so close Ash! I got second place this year, just barely losing in the final seconds. But I know I'll definitely win this year coming up!" She flashed a grin and raised a fist in the air.

"That's the spirit Dawn, never get too down on your loses! Just come back stronger and give it your all." Ash replied to her, holding his hand up for Dawn to quickly high five.

"Well looks like Dawn's caught you up to date with her contests."

Ash turned around to see his older companion walking up to the pair with a smile on his face. "Brock its great to see you. You look like you haven't changed at all." He gave his friend a quick hug.

"Well it's only been a year Ash. We can't all have the growth spurts that you seem to have every time you take these year-long journeys" the Pokémon breeder and doctor in training answered his younger friend. "But spill the beans Ash, you gotta' let us know who told you about the surprise."

Just then, a nervous and flustered May walked into the group, distracting the three and quickly embracing Ash, "Its so good to see you Ash. Happy birthday again!"

Ash felt his face slightly heat up, but returned the embrace, whispering "Don't worry May, I won't let anyone know it slipped out that day we were talking," May let out a nervous laugh before nodding and letting go of the young trainer.

"I'm glad to see you're doing great May, and congratulations on your Grand Festival win!" Ash told the brunette, a smile stretching from ear to ear.

"What! May, why didn't you tell us you won the Grand Festival in Hoenn?" Dawn asked, while a shocked but smiling Brock nodded along.

"Its no big deal guys," she answered while rubbing the back of her head and nervously laughing it off, "I was going to let you guys know during the party, but Ash just beat me to it" giving Ash's shoulder a playful nudge.

"So now the birthday boy thinks he's too good for us, he can't even bother to say hello to his old rivals, ain't that right Ashy?"

Gary was walking up to the group with Paul close behind him, both holding small grins on their faces.

"Oh please Gary, you know that is not true, but thanks for the Ashy sign," Ash sarcastically answered back, rolling his eyes, only to smile back and hold his hand out. "Its nice to see you. You too Paul, I didn't think you'd make the trip all the way back to Pallet" he said shaking both the boys' hands.

"Well, Dawn convinced me to come with her and I definitely couldn't pass up the chance to see how strong you've gotten after your training." Paul answered back with a small grin.

"Wait, what do you mean Dawn convinced you? You came with Dawn?" Ash asked a little puzzled by the statement.

Paul was about to answer but before he could, Dawn cut him off, hoping to change the subject, "Ash why don't you show us some of the new Pokémon you caught during your training?"

The other members in the group gave Dawn a quizzical look, but her plan seemed to have worked as Ash went to his belt and unclipped a couple of pokeballs, "Uh… Sure Dawn, why not."

Ash tossed up the four pokeballs he unclipped, letting out four new members to his already growing team.

First came a small feline-like Pokémon similar in size to Gary's Umbreon. However, this Pokémon was a pink color with a long tail split at the end and a red jewel placed in the center of her forehead. Next was a large bipedal blue reptilian Pokémon. She had a long tail and horn that protruded her head, although smaller than the horn of her male counterpart. The next Pokémon was serpentine-like and celeste in color with a white belly. It had a long body and a small horn on its head. Finally came a large four legged dog-like Pokémon, orange, black, and cream in color.

"Everyone, meet Espeon, Nidoqueen, Dragonair, and Arcanine," Ash said as his hand moved across the line of his new Pokémon, "Guys these are some of my closest friends," doing the same with his line of friends, some with shocking looks on their faces while others simply smiled and got closer to greet Ash's new Pokémon.

As the group of trainers all began to greet and examine Ash's new Pokémon, it was evident that Dragonair was stealing some of the attention from the rest of the Pokémon. It was only normal, seeing as how the dragon type was such an elusive Pokémon for most trainers.

"Wow Ash, where in the world did you find a Dragonair?" May asked, obviously in awe of the majestic creature as she rubbed her on the head.

Ash came over and began scratching Dragonair under the neck, the Pokémon obviously enjoying the attention of the two trainers, cooing in content. "It's a long story May, but basically I was training with a friend up on Mt Silver and he told me there was a place in Johto where Dratini were found pretty frequently so I set off to find one and the rest is history, ain't that right Dragonair?"

"Drag dra nair" the Pokémon answered her trainer with a smile.

"Speaking of which, where did Pikachu take the rest of my Pokémon? I want them to meet the new members to the team…" Ash asked as he scanned the area.

* * *

"… _And then bam! Here comes Pikachu to the rescue again. That Arbok had no idea what it had coming to him."_

In a clearing a couple yards away from where the group of people were chatting, Ash's Pokémon all sat around a familiar yellow mouse who seemed to be telling the group about a certain Team Rocket story in which, Pikachu's "heroism" and "bravery" saved the day "once again". A couple of the Pokémon chuckled listening to the story, others began to clap hearing Pikachu's bravery and strength, while some of Ash's younger Pokémon looked on in awe of their hero and mentor, Pikachu.

A large green reptilian Pokémon fell down from the tree giving shade to the other Pokémon and approached the center, signature twig in mouth, " _So Pikachu, did Ash find any new Pokémon to join the team? If I recall correctly he only took you this time to train."_

" _As a matter a fact Sceptile, he did. I actually bet he's introducing them to the other now. I think I heard the sound of pokeballs releasing back at the party."_

Another Pokémon came forward, this one a dragon-like Pokémon with shark-like fins on its arms and back, _"Where exactly did you guys go to train? I heard from Charizard that you guys were at Mt Silver."_

" _Yeah Gabite, we were there for a couple of months, but we eventually moved on and went through a lot of different places, like Hoenn and Sinnoh. We even stopped by Rota along the way."_

Just as another Pokémon was about to ask why, they heard their trainer calling for them from where the rest of the trainers were gathered,

"Pikachu! Bring everyone over here so they can meet the rest of the team buddy!"

And with that, they all hurried over to meet their trainer and their new friends.

* * *

Everyone was seemingly enjoying the party. Ash's Pokémon had gone through introductions and were now running wild, playing and battling all over Professor Oak's plains. Dragonair had quickly got into a battle with Sceptile, with the grass type wanting to test out how strong his new companion was. Espeon ran around with some of Ash's other Eevee evolutions, joining his Jolteon, Flareon and Leafeon in a game of tag. Arcanine was resting under some shade with some of Ash's flying Pokémon while Nidoqueen was having a rock-breaking contest with Ash's Krookodile.

Ash had gone around and spoken to each of his friends, talking about each of their journeys and accomplishments. Ash spoke to Misty about her training at the Gym and even challenged her to an official battle for the Cascade badge, wanting to truly earn it through a battle this time. He thanked his mom and Professor Oak for putting all of this together but before he could sit down and eat, his trainer instincts got the best of him. After hearing that Paul finished the Kanto circuit and placed in the top 4 of the tournament, they decided to quickly have a battle to see how the other had progressed.

Brock agreed to referee the match, while the rest of the crowd sat down on the grass on either side of the battlefield.

"Alright so this will be a simple one-on-one battle between Ash and Paul. The battle will be over when one or both of the Pokémon are unable to battle."

Paul unclipped a pokeball from his belt and quickly tossed it in the air, "Gallade, I need your assistance"

"Nice Paul, you got yourself a Gallade. Arcanine let's show him what we got!"

Arcanine came running from the nearby tree it was resting and quickly jumped over Ash and onto the battlefield. Each Pokémon glared at the other and took position to begin, waiting only on Brock's command.

"Begin!"

"Alright Arcanine, Extreme Speed!"

"Gallade dodge it and use Night Slash!"

Gallade braced itself to dodge but Arcanine disappeared almost immediately after hearing its command. Before the psychic type could react, he was slammed into from behind and slid across the ground.

"Man, that Arcanine is fast! I didn't even see him attack." Dawn exclaimed, shocked by the speed at which Gallade was hit.

"Yeah, you can tell Ash definitely worked on Arcanine's speed during their training" Gary told the group as they watched intently.

May silently nodded, not taking her eyes off the field, slightly in awe at how far Ash had progressed this whole time.

"Alright Gallade lets try Double Team followed by another Night Slash"

"Arcanine jump in the middle and wait for the command!"

After appearing back on its trainer's side, Arcanine quickly jumped in the middle of the field before Gallade and its clones surrounded him. The psychic type began to close in on Arcanine, its arms glowing black, preparing to attack from all angles with Night Slash.

"Now, Overheat Arcanine!"

Arcanine began to glow red before a flame surrounded its body. As quickly as it formed, it exploded in all directions, reaching as far as the grass by Dawn and May's legs.

"Hey Ash! Try not to kill us here, will ya'" Gary yelled at Ash after seeing both girls jump back to avoid the heat wave coming their way.

"Sorry guys" Ash answered sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

Back on the field, Arcanine's attack had finished but Gallade was nowhere to be seen. Arcanine quickly turned to its side but before he could react Gallade's Night Slahs struck him. It stumbled a few steps before it held its ground and quickly charged at his opponent.

"Arcanine Extreme Speed into a Fire Fang!"

"Gallade Double Team and Psycho-Cut"

As Arcanine disappeared, Gallade began to create copies of himself to avoid the attack. However, just as his copies were beginning to appear, what seemed like copies of Arcanine began to attack each Gallade copy with Fire Fang, before the real Gallade was hit.

Paul was shocked to see his Pokémon hit by the same move it used for defense, "But how? You never called for a Double Team. How did Arcanine know to do that?"

Ash smirked and simply waved his finger in the air, "He didn't use Double Team, he simply used Extreme Speed to attack each copy as they appeared, what you saw was the after image of Arcanine attacking the copies."

His friends in the sideline were in awe of what they just saw and began to wonder just how much training Ash truly did during his journey. His other Pokémon were watching intently, silently cheering on the newest member of the team.

"llade!" the psychic time had gotten back up from the attack but let out a grunt as it was badly burned from Arcanine's bite.

"Alright Arcanine finish this with Wild Charge and Crunch!"

"Gallade use Earthquake!"

Gallade, who was breathing heavily, began to pound on the ground below him, causing the field to shake violently. Arcanine began to glow in electricity and began to charge at his opponent, electricity crackling everywhere. However, right before he could land a hit, he began to lose his balance from the ground's shaking.

"Quick, jump into the air and Fire Blast Arcanine!"

Arcanine prepared coiled its back legs and sprung high into the air, with Gallade following it with its gaze into the sky. At the apex of its jump, Arcanine used the sun to blind the psychic type and quickly shot down a star shape blast of fire. Unable to shield his eyes in time, Gallade was hit with the full force of the attack. After the smoke cleared, Gallade was knocked out with swirls in its eyes, while Arcanine was back by Ash's side, panting after taking the recoil damage from the Wild Charge.

"Gallade is unable to battle. The winner of this match is Ash!"

Paul returned Gallade and went to shake Ash's hand, "Arcanine is definitely powerful, great battle Ash"

Ash took his hand and grinned, "Yeah Paul that was a lot of fun. You better watch out though, I'm starting to catch up!"

"Uh, in your dreams Ketchum. If I remember correctly, it's still 34 to 30, but keep trying and maybe you'll catch up." Paul let out a grin and crossed his arms.

The other quickly joined in, congratulating Ash on the win and wondering how he got Arcanine's speed so high.

"He's definitely in great shape Ash, you could tell by how high he was able to jump on his hind legs. He may even be as strong as my Arcanine," Gary told him with a wink.

"Anytime, any day Gary!" Ash challenged back, before they both started laughing.

"Ash that was a really great battle. You've definitely gotten a lot stronger than the last time I saw you."

"Hey, thanks May, I've been working extra hard with everyone since I lost to Alain in Kalos. I'm glad to see its been working though," Ash answered blushing slightly at her praise of his battling.

"It definitely has. Maybe you can teach me and my Pokémon some of the new strategies you came up with sometime", giving him a small wink.

Ash's blush deepened, but before he could answer, he was interrupted and saved by his mother.

"I'd like everyone's attention please. I want to thank everyone who was able to take time to come and celebrate with our Ash his birthd-"

"PIKA!"

"Sorry, I meant Ash **and** Pikachu's birthday"

Everyone let out a laugh before Delia continued.

"Before Ash decides to go on his next crazy adventure, I wanted to give him this special gift so he could enjoy some time off from his training and battles to just relax and enjoy some time off."

Delia signaled for Professor Oak to pass her an envelope and waved towards Ash so he stepped forward to receive his birthday gift from his mother.

"Its actually a gift for Ash and his friends as well. Think of it as a thank you for taking care of my Ashy throughout his journey and being such wonderful friends to him."

Ash began to open the envelope and saw that they held five tickets, each with a picture of a large resort on a beautiful beach. Before Ash, or anyone else, could ask or object, Delia quickly continued.

"As you can see, it's a seven day, all expense paid trip to the Orange Islands' 5-Star Resort. I've already spoken to Misty, Tracey, and Gary, and unfortunately, neither of them is able to take the time off to accompany the rest of you. Misty with her duties as gym leader and Tracey and Gary are far too busy helping the Professor here at the lab. That leaves the five of you" she finished as she gave a ticket to each of Brock, May, Dawn, Ash, and Paul. "The ferry leaves in two days, so you each have enough time to pack what you need and meet back here"

Unsurprisingly, May and Dawn jumped for joy, already thinking of the great time they would have, the shopping, and the tanning they would do. Brock smiled sweetly at Delia, expressing his gratitude for such a gift, while Ash hugged his mom thanking her for the gift. More than the gift, the idea of having his close friends along for the ride made the idea that much more enticing for Ash. He had already planned to take a small break from his training but this was definitely a much better way to relax and enjoy his break.

Paul was looking blankly at his ticket, confused and feeling a bit out of place. Sure, his rough patch with Ash was over and they agreed to have a positive rivalry constantly pushing the other to reach higher levels of success, but he still felt as though he did not deserve such an extravagant gift.

"Hey Paul, I know what you're thinking, but believe it or not, you're practically family now whether you like it or not. That big doofus loves his friends too much to consider them anything less."

Paul smirked and nodded, "Yeah you're right Gary. It sucks you can't make it though".

"We'll see, maybe I'll take a break and visit you guys for a day or two."

Paul nodded and they both rejoined the party.

* * *

The sun began to set and the rest of the evening went along peacefully. The Pokémon went back to playing and resting, while the rest of the gang started up a bonfire and talked about each one's travels and the upcoming trip. Misty soon left back to Cerulean, thanking everyone and leaving Ash with a new Gyarados lure she got him as a birthday gift. Pikachu huffed and crossed his arm, but was soon squealing with joy when Misty turned and gave him a bottle shaped present. The Pokémon quickly tore through the paper but was completely heart broken to find that the bottle was not the Ketchup he asked for, but rather a bottle of Barbecue sauce. Unable to keep the act, Misty quickly gave him his real gift, a brand new bottle of Ketchup. As the gang laughed watching Pikachu struggle with opening the bottle, May seemed to be the only one deep in thought. She was listening to what the group spoke about with one ear but her head was slowly drifting away.

She quietly got up and decided to take a walk through the fields, but as she was leaving she heard footsteps behind her.

"Mind if I join you?"

She smiled warmly and nodded, "Sure Ash".

"You've been pretty quiet since my mom gave us the tickets. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah Ash. I just can't help but think of Max. I know he's on his journey and he checks in with us often, but I still miss him. I know he would've loved to come with us."

"I know May, but you'll see him again soon. If you want we can catch up with him after we get back from the trip."

May's eyes quickly turned from saddened to glistening with joy, "Really Ash? You mean that?"

"Of course May, that's what friends are for. To support and help each other when things are tough" he replied, a smile forming on his face, glad to see his friend was beginning to cheer up.

With a huff, May crossed her arms and turned away from him.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

"I thought I was your BEST friend, Ashy?" she turned back to him with a smile, clearly only teasing him.

"O-of course M-May…" he began to laugh nervously as he felt a sudden blush coming.

"Oh so you're not my best friend?" a glint of pain could be heard in the way May answered.

"N-no May of course you are! Its just, you called me Ashy" he couldn't stop the blush from forming and decided to turn his head, hoping the setting sun would hide his blush.

"Oh does it bother you? I thought I could call my best friend whatever I wanted" she finished, wondering how far she could take the teasing.

Ash was trying his best to conceal the blush overwhelming his face but was having a hard time doing so with May getting near his face, waiting for his response.

"Of course May. You can call me whatever you want" he finally finished before gulping.

"I'm only joking Ash" she smiled at him, her sapphire eyes looking right at him. "But I am serious about you being my best friend. I don't think I'd be where I am now if it wasn't for all your help" she thought of what she wanted to say before continuing. "I've been wanting to thank you for a while now for everything you've done for me."

"I could say the same thing about you May. You've helped me grow as a trainer as well as a person, so thank you."

Before Ash could register what was happening, May quickly embraced him. It took him a second, but Ash returned the hug.

For May, it felt as though time stopped. She couldn't quite explain it, but she felt a warm feeling growing inside her. If it were up to her, she would have stayed there the whole night, but realizing how it must have looked, she decided to let go of Ash. The warm feeling she had disappeared, but she quickly smiled and could have sworn she saw a feint blush on Ash's face before he turned away.

"C'mon Ash, we should probably get ready, we have a busy few days ahead of us! You get to tell my parents we're going to a resort!"

"Uh-oh…"

May quickly grabbed Ash by the hand and dragged him back towards the bonfire.

* * *

Miles away, an exchange can be heard between two powerful forces, contemplating their next move.

" _We need him, you know he's the only one that can help."_

" _I know, but it's too dangerous. I can't put him through that danger again…"_

" _We may not have a choice though…"_

* * *

 **So there you have it! Chapter one complete. Hopefully I didn't bore anyone too much by the pace of the story. If that is a problem though, please let me know. I promise, more of the plot will be introduced in the coming chapters.**

 **As you can see, some time has passed between any of the canon anime and now, and there will be new Pokémon forming part of the characters' teams.**

 **If you have any request for certain Pokémon, feel free to let me know. Part of the reason I love fanfics is because it's honestly all on the imagination of the writer and they have all the freedom in the world to write as they please.**

 **As far as updates go, I'll be doing my best to update at least once a week, if not twice a week.**

 **Finally, please read and review. I can only get better with the help of you all!**

 **\- HRS**


	2. Mother Dearest

**First of all, thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to read Chapter 1 of this story. Even if you didn't review, thank you very much. To those that did review, I really do appreciate it a lot, and I took into account everything that was said.**

 **I'm enjoying where the story is going and I hope you guys do as well. As you guys will find out throughout the story, I love Pikachu lol. He's seriously one of my favorite.**

 **With respect to the updates, I was able to finish this rather quickly because I have a lot of free time on my hand cause the semester is over. Unfortunately, I start school soon so I won't be able to update as frequent, but hopefully I'll stick to my plan of twice a week.**

 **Enough rambling, enjoy and please review.**

* * *

With the day coming to an end, various members of the group had already decided to get going in order to prepare for the upcoming trip. Professor Oak and Delia thought it would be a good idea to allow the kids to have their fun and decided to each head back home to get some rest. Tracey and Gary followed soon after and, saying their goodbyes, each followed the professor into the lab to get some rest.

"So, how are you guys each going back home to pack for the trip?" Ash asked the group that would be departing in two days time. Pikachu was being lulled to sleep on Ash's lap while the raven-haired trainer spoke.

"I'll be going back home to pack and tell Forrest to take care of my brothers while we're gone. I'll probably be back tomorrow evening to leave with you the following morning Ash," his older friend answered back.

"Paul and I should probably start heading back to Sinnoh. We wanted to leave tonight in order to arrive tomorrow morning and make it back in time to meet you all at the docks." Dawn replied.

"Wait… You guys are going back together too? You guys sure seem to spend a lot of time together as of late." The confusion apparent in Ash's tone as his two friends from Sinnoh blushed and looked away.

"We do not!" The pair answered in unison, not helping their already deep blush.

Because May was not usually as dense as her raven-haired friend, she quickly connected the dots and decided to help out her blunette friend out of her current predicament.

"Wait guys, how do you plan to make such a long trip in that short a span of time?" She was honestly curious at how the pair would go about traveling all the way Sinnoh and back in roughly two days.

Noticing the attention flipping, Paul decided to speak up. "Well Ash is not the only one who's been training and catching new pokémon this past year." Quickly, he unclipped a pokeball and out from it appeared a large intimidating blue dragon with long red wings.

"Whoa Paul, you never told me you had a Salamence." Ash quickly answered, surprised at the newest member of Paul's team. The dragon type took a glance around at the crowd before taking flight into the night sky.

"She's a little shy, but wait till you see her fly Ash. He could give your Pidgeot a run for its money." Dawn answered, the pride over Paul's pokémon apparent in her response. "That's how we were able to make it here on such short notice."

"Well the important thing is that you guys are here before 10:00 in the morning when the ferry leaves." Brock reminded the pair.

"Sure thing. We should probably get going if we want to have enough time to pack everything and make it back." Dawn answered as she quickly pulled May aside, which confused the brunette.

"What's wrong Dawn?"

"Is it too obvious?" She quickly answered, taking glances at the boys as they small talked, waiting for Dawn to finish.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know," she stole a glance at the guys and quickly looked back. "The whole me and Paul traveling together."

"YOU GUYS ARE DATING?" the brunette shouted, catching the attention of the others at the bonfire.

"Would you keep your voice down!" Dawn glared at May when the brunette realized how loud her reaction was. "We're not dating, but we have gotten… closer."

"Oh, but what's the big deal with not letting Ash know?" May recalled countless conversations with Dawn about her travels with Ash in Sinnoh. Although the blunette admitted to having a small crush on Ash while they travelled, she confessed to have lost all feelings for the boy shortly after they stopped traveling together. A short sting of pain quickly hit May after asking the question. She could not understand why she began feeling a hint of anger and jealousy towards her friend. Ash and her were only friends, best friends actually, but that should not have been a reason for her to feel that way towards Dawn. _Why am I starting to feel this pain in my chest? Its almost as if I'm… jealous? But why? Ash is my best friend, I shouldn't be thinking this way._ Before May could continue dwelling on her thoughts, Dawn answered.

"No, of course not! I just feel like I should be the one to tell Ash, and I can't even say anything because I don't even know if Paul feels the same way" It was clear that Dawn was a bit saddened by that last bit.

"Well maybe this trip will bring you guys closer together until you find an answer Dawn."

"I sure hope so, but until then can you just help me out? You know how dense Ash is but if he keeps asking questions, he might find out how I feel about Paul and spill the beans before I can. They're probably over there talking about that now…"

* * *

Just as the girls looked in the direction of the boys, Ash and Paul had engaged in a who-could-fit-the-most-marshmallows-in-their-mouth-before-time-runs-out challenge, with Brock refereeing, timer in hand.

"Rou're groing drown Paul!" Ash got out between marshmallows.

"In rour dreafs Ketchum!"

* * *

"Boys… I'll never understand" May let out, both girls clearly dumbfounded by the attention span of the opposite sex.

Both girls joined the group and after witnessing the boys nearly collapse from the amount of marshmallows in their mouths, Brock determined the challenge ended in a tie, much to the dismay of both trainers. After they collected themselves, Dawn and Paul hopped on Salamence's back, ready to depart on their journey.

"Please don't be late!" Ash aimed his statement towards his female companion who had the tendency to make him late to almost all his battles. "I know how much you love doing your hair Dawn but you'll have plenty of time on the ferry."

"Don't worry about it Ash, I'll make sure she's here on time." Paul replied, earning a playful shove from the blunette.

"You two behave now!" May yelled out. Now aware of the situation Dawn found herself in, May decided to have some fun with the coordinator who often times found ways to tease and bother the brunette. She figured it was time for some payback.

Dawn was clearly glaring at May, fuming at her last remark. Luckily, for her, the night along with their current altitude hid her blush from the remaining members on the ground. The pair quickly waved at their friends before Salamence took off in astonishing speed, soon disappearing from view. Just then, it dawned on Ash that he had forgotten something.

"Hey May, how are you getting home to pack? Do you need any of my pokémon to help you get home?"

The brunette smiled at her friends concern and offer, "It's okay Ash. I actually knew about your moms gift beforehand so I have my bag ready at your house."

"Oh okay… But how did you now about the gift already?"

"Well your mom called me to help her find out who would be available to go, that way she knew how many tickets to buy."

"Oh, I didn't know you and my mom were talking, May." Ash answered, scratching his chin while his thoughts began to stir. "How long have you guys been talking?"

"She calls me every now and then to check on how I am as well as ask if I've heard from you."

"That sounds just like her," he answered, letting out a small chuckle. "Does she call you too Brock?"

"Not really, not as often as she calls May, Ash." The older companion answered.

"Hm… Well that's weird."

Brock simply smiled and shook his head. _He may have matured during his travels, but boy, is Ash still dense with these things_. He quickly turned over to May who had the same confused face as Ash did. _Well, I guess that's probably why you two are meant for each other._ With a light chuckle, Brock began to walk ahead of the pair of friends.

By this time, Ash had picked up Pikachu from his lap and the three decided to head back towards Ash's home where May would be staying and Brock would split with the pair and head back to Pewter City. The walk was a quiet one, each deep in their own thoughts. May was thinking of the wonderful time they would all have their, the shopping she would get to do on the paradise island, and the beautiful beach she would get to lay down on and enjoy. Unsurprisingly, Brock was thinking of the beautiful women he would meet along the beach and the resort. With Max not being around, and Croagunk staying with Forrest at the gym, Brock felt free at last to find his soul mate, or soul mate **s**. Ash on the other hand was not thinking about the trip, rather he had the sudden feeling that they were all being followed. The fact that his pokémon were left back at the lab and Pikachu being asleep did not help ease his worries. If it came down to it, the trio had no way of defending themselves. The rest of the walk was spent with Brock and May asking questions about Ash's latest journey, with the latter too distracted to answer their questions with much detail. The three arrived at Ash's house without any problems when Brock was ready to say his goodbyes.

"Hey Brock why don't you just leave tomorrow morning. Its getting pretty late and Pewter City is not that far anyway." Ash suggested to him, worried about something happening to his friend. The group had not realized but it was close to midnight.

"I guess that's not such a bad idea. I am pretty tired anyway, I'll just leave tomorrow morning then. Thanks Ash."

Just then, Ash heard a small rustle in the trees in front of his home and quickly turned around scanning the area. Brock had already entered the house, but before May followed him, she realized Ash was frozen in place, facing off into the nearby trees. She turned to grab him and when she tapped his shoulder, she was startled. She could have sworn that when Ash turned to face her, there was a glint of blue in his eyes, but before she could open her mouth to say something, it quickly changed back to his normal auburn eyes.

"What's wrong May?"

"O-oh, n-nothing Ash, you ready to come inside?" May stuttered as she concluded that her imagination was simply playing tricks on her.

Ash simply smiled warmly and nodded, "After you, best friend."

May chuckled and walked inside the house. Before Ash stepped inside, he took one quick glance back at the woods, where he swore he saw a small shimmer of light that quickly vanished away. He shook his head, thinking his head was playing games with him and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

* * *

 _Flashback_

In the woods, a trio of pokémon stares intently at a group of humans walking into a home along a path.

"So Ash who exactly is this friend of yours that you were training with on Mt Silver _"_

"Oh, he's a trainer I met one day when I decided to train up in Mt Silver; he's really good. I battled him and lost pretty badly. He doesn't talk much, though." The trainer answered, sounding a bit distracted.

The three begin to enter the house but the trainer who answered the question quickly turns towards the pokémon, who scatter trying to remain undetected. They wait for the boy to walk into his house before speaking.

" _We need to go and tell him that the boy is traveling."_ One of the pokémon says to the other two.

" _Why don't we just snatch him up now? Its his fault all this happened, I'm tired of waiting"_ The second Pokémon asked the first. " _He's defenseless and it won't be much trou-"_

 _"_ _No! We were sent solely to scout. Let's head back."_ The third pokémon interrupted.

The second pokémon grunted in disapproval but they ultimately turned back and quickly sprinted through the trees, easily disappearing quickly.

* * *

"So…" Ash started, "I guess Brock can take the guest room, I'll sleep in my bed, and May can have the sofa."

"Ash Ketchum, you must be crazy if you think you're taking the bed while I sleep here on the sofa." The brunette answered, ready to literally knock some sense into Ash before Brock caught her in mid air. Ash simply broke into a laugh that might have woken Delia up if she was not such a heavy sleeper.

"I was only joking May, obviously you'll be sleeping on my bed while I take the sofa." Ash quickly stated, laughing nervously. He wondered what his fate would have been if Brock had not helped him out.

Embarrassed by her sudden outburst, May simply huffed and walked away from the two guys downstairs and went into the bathroom to change.

"Do you think she really got upset Brock?"

"I don't think so Ash, she's probably just embarrassed by the little scene she just made." His friend assured him.

"Well I'll go change in my room while May uses the bathroom. You can use the guest room Brock. I don't think I'll be awake when you leave, so have a safe trip and see you tomorrow night."

"Sure thing Ash, and thanks again. Goodnight."

With that, the two headed upstairs, each going to separate rooms. Brock was changing into his nightclothes while Ash looked through his drawers for his shorts and shirt. He laid Pikachu down on his bed, hoping not to wake up his companion. He quickly took off his pants and shirt, but after taking off his shirt to put on his pajama shirt, he heard the doorknob turn. Ash remembered he forgot to lock the door before beginning to change and quickly turned around to face the door. Much to his dismay, May had no idea he was inside changing and barged in while he was shirtless. The two stood in silence as a blush grew on each of their faces. Before long, she found herself starring at Ash's bare chest that, although not overwhelming, was definitely the body of a physically well-fit young man. Her gaze slowly moved lower as she saw he had on a pair of torchic boxers. With this scene happening in a span of seconds, Ash finally reacted.

"MAY!" Ash yelled as he quickly threw himself on the floor behind his bed.

"Ash… I'm… So sorry… I had no idea you were in here changing!" She finally got out between the hysteric laughter she could not contain anymore.

Ash's face immediately became flustered as he tried to reach for his shorts and shirt while trying to cover as much of himself as possible with his bed. After Ash let out the scream, Pikachu groggily woke up and saw the scene in front of him. He quickly glanced at his trainer on the ground reaching for his clothes and then to the brunette laughing uncontrollably on floor opposite to the side Ash was on. The electric mouse simply shrugged his shoulders and lazily curled up on one of the pillows before falling back asleep. Meanwhile Ash was finally able to change into his clothes after May recuperated enough of her strength to reach over and throw Ash's clothes towards his side of the floor.

"Sheesh Ashy," May started as she wiped a tear from her eye. "Next time warn a girl before you wanna' put on a show." She finished before giving Ash a playful wink.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Go ahead and laugh it up." Ash declared as he turned away with his arms crossed against his chest. "I guess I shouldn't tell you that the reason I got those particular boxers was because of you." He finished, trying to excite May's curiosity.

"Wait… Really?" May asked, obviously curious to know the story.

"Yeah, I remembered how your first pokémon ever was Torchic and it was just a way of remembering you while I traveled"

May was taken aback by the boy's honesty, surprised that he even thought of her during his travels. She knew they were good friends but always figured he was too focused on his training to remember about his friends.

"Wow Ash, I honestly don't even know what to say." May could feel her face start to heat up as she turned away to avoid any eye contact. The boy however, knew he got the response he wanted and thought it was time to bring it home.

"That's fine May. Don't say anything… Because I'm only joking! My mother got me these when I first got back from Kalos." He finished, unable to control himself anymore. He immediately burst into laughter, rolling around uncontrollably on his bed. "You should have seen your face May," he let between laughing and rolling.

"Ash Ketchum, you jerk!" She immediately jumped on him and tackled him to the bed. Her facial expression was one of pure anger while her eyes revealed slight sadness and pain at the young boy's harsh prank. Before she could help it, her eyes got watery and small tears began to form at the ends of her eyes. Ash knew he messed up and immediately felt horrible for pranking May and seeing her get upset.

"May, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry," he quickly said, trying to amend the situation. He felt a harsh sting in his chest at seeing his best friend hurt in the way she was. "May I actually do think about you during my travels. If you get off of me I can show you I'm not lying." She quickly rolled off and wiped the remaining tears from her face, waiting for Ash to make his point. He quickly went over to his black vest and opened one of the flaps, revealing on the inside of it a small half a ribbon, seemingly pinned to the inside of the vest.

"Look May, I keep my half of our Terraccota ribbon with me at all times. Whenever I face a tough challenge or start to think about giving up, I quickly reach for it and think about how you're always cheering me on and hoping I do my best. It gives me strength when I need it most."

"Ash…" May began, before again becoming overwhelmed with tears falling down her cheeks.

"Aw, I messed up again, didn't I? I am sorry May. I wish I could be as good a friend as you are with me."

Before Ash could continue, May put a hand up as if to tell him to stop and quickly reached for a necklace under her shirt. She pulled out a thin delicate gold chain, and at the center of it, hanging from it, was the other half of the Terraccotta ribbon that the two tied for during one of their last adventures together.

"You're a great friend, silly. I keep my half with me at all times cause it reminds me of all the wonderful times we all had together. Knowing that you do too just made me happy Ash. Thank you." She said, sniffing and reaching for the young trainer.

Ash walked over to her and let the young brunette pull him into a deep bear hug, resting his head on top of hers while she sniffled all over his shirt. He could feel how his shirt became moist with the tears May was wiping on him but he could care less. All he could think about was how she was starting to feel better and how important their friendship truly was to May. He always considered May one of his closest friends, but he could not explain the warm feeling he began to feel while he was hugging her. Now that he thought of it, the feeling seemed to return every time the young coordinator embraced him. He had no words to explain what the feeling was but he knew it was a feeling he liked. If it were up to him, he would stay where they were all night, but he knew his legs as well as May's would eventually give in.

"Hey May…"

"Yeah Ash?"

"I think we should get to bed. It's getting pretty late."

"Five more minutes." He chuckled and nodded, letting his thoughts run wild about the upcoming trip and the fun times he would have with all his friends, especially May. Before he could think for too long, May let go and let out a small yawn, clearly exhausted from the long day.

"All right bedtime," she said before jumping on the bed and quickly getting under the covers.

Ash simply nodded and headed for the door, "Goodnight May." As he stepped out he could not help but smile as Pikachu curled up close to May before cooing in content of the body heat and falling back asleep.

After Ash left the room, May turned towards the ceiling with both hands behind her head. She wondered about the coming days and the experiences they would all share. She could not help but feel excited and felt an unexplainable happiness after the events that just happened. Ash just admitted to thinking about her during his journeys, but she wondered if that was that the case with all his friends? Did he keep mementos from all of his friends, or was she the exception. She remembered Ash telling him about a lure Misty gave him before they eventually all split. Did he carry that with him as well? She eventually wondered why it mattered anyway. _It's not like I like him… Do I?_

While this last thought crossed her mind, however, the sleep eventually took over and she quickly fell asleep, a small smile across her lips.

* * *

The morning sun shone through the small spaces between the blinds in Ash's room, hitting the face of one small electric type that was having, according to him, the greatest dream about ketchup imaginable; something along the lines of Ketchup Kingdom is what he would call it. Unfortunately, the brave ketchup warrior would eventually lose this battle, as the sun was far too powerful for his little paws to shield. He gave in to the dark side and slowly opened one eye, followed by the other. As he realized it was morning, he slowly turned around and saw May, sleeping cozily next to him, a small smile present on her face. He wondered if she too was dreaming of Ketchup Kingdom and quietly sat up from bed.

"Chaa…" He let out as he stretched and yawned. _I wonder where Pikapi is. All I remember is him dying on the floor next to me and May dying of laughter on the floor opposite to him. Well, better go find him. Arceus knows, he'd be lost without me._

With that, the mouse pokémon hopped off the bed and quietly left the room, hoping not to disturb May's sleep. He slowly closed the door and began to run downstairs, hoping to find his trainer asleep on the couch. As he reached the living room, however, Ash was nowhere to be found. The couch looked intact with the sheets folded nicely and placed to the side. Before he checked anywhere else, he felt the smell of delicious breakfast hit his nose and ran into the kitchen, hoping he would find his trainer ready to eat. Much to his surprise, Ash was not in the kitchen either.

"Oh hey Pikachu, are you looking for Ash?" Delia asked.

"Pika," he responded as he nodded his head in case she did not understand his answer.

"He ran off this morning saying he would be back by breakfast time. He didn't exactly tell me where he was off to though," she finished with a frown.

Pikachu nodded again before leaving the kitchen and running outside to see if he could find the raven-haired boy. As he stepped out, he saw Ash jogging towards the house with his Arcanine running next to him. Pikachu quickly broke into a sprint and tackled his trainer to the ground expressing how happy he was to see he was okay. Arcanine simply smiled at the greeting the small pokémon gave his trainer and thought about giving the same kind of affection towards his new trainer in the future. Although with his weight, he might end up hurting Ash instead.

"Hey buddy, I wanted to wake you up to come train with us but you looked so comfortable I couldn't do it."

"Pika pi Pikachu pikapi"

"Oh really? An entire Ketchup Kingdom, huh?" He replied to his friend with a light chuckle. "Well I guess it's a good thing I didn't wake you then. Is May awake?"

"Pi," he answered while shaking his little head.

"Well I know what will do the trick. Return Arcanine, take a nice long rest, you deserve it."

After returning the dog pokémon, the two quickly ran through the door and went upstairs, greeting Ash's mom on the way up. His mom told him to bring May down now that breakfast was ready and he intended to do so. When he reached his room he saw that May had now taken over the entirety of the bed and was in full Starmie form, stretching her arms and legs across the bed. Both he and Pikachu quietly giggled at the sight and got as close as possible to May without waking her up. He thought of an idea that would probably wake her up, but told Pikachu to clear away in case her reaction was similar to what he was thinking it would be. First, he thought he would be civil.

"Hey May… Its time to wake up."

She began to stir a little so Ash decided to slowly rock her shoulder to see if she would wake up. However, all he got was a grunted response.

"Mmm… Five more minutes honey." She barely got out before going back to sleep. Ash had to shake off the blush that started on his face before proceeding with his original plan. He got real close to ear and prepared to stay clear.

"May… Food is ready."

Immediately, as if on cue, May shot straight up from the bed, barely missing Ash's head who was able to get out of the way just in time. Now Pikachu knew what he meant by stay clear. May quickly got out of bed and stared at her two friends who sweat-dropped and started to laugh.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for? Food's ready guys, last one there loses!" She quickly shouted before running down the stairs of Ash's home, reaching the kitchen in record time. Ash and Pikachu simply continued laughing as they got up and went downstairs to join May and their mother. Once they reached the table, May was already sitting waiting for the two to join her. The table was filled with plates of food, ranging from pancakes, to eggs to bacon and sausage. Once the boys were seated, they dug in, only stopping occasionally after they remembered they needed to breathe. Delia just smiled at the trio as they enjoyed her tasty food she prepared with all the love she could.

"May did you sleep well last night in Ash's bed?" asked Mrs. Ketchum.

"You bet I did. I slept like a baby, I didn't even feel when Pikachu left the room or when they came in to wake me up."

"Yeah May you were knocked out cold," Ash replied slightly chuckling as he remembered her Starmie position. "I'm glad though. I woke up a little early to go out and jog with Arcanine for a bit. Brock was already gone by the time I woke up, though."

"I wonder if he made it back okay." The brunette added.

The rest of the morning was quiet as May helped Mrs. Ketchum with the dishes while Ash and Pikachu took a shower and got dressed; after them, it was May's turn. She decided to take her time and thoroughly wash her hair as she did not know when she would get the chance again, as they were going to a tropical beach that included lots of sand and wind. While May was in the shower, Delia took time to talk to Ash about something that was on her mind.

"Ash, do you like May?" She outright asked him.

"WHAT! What are you talking about mom?" Ash's face was full of horror, shocked that his mother would ask him something like that so casually.

"Oh come on Ash. I know you better than anyone else, and you obviously care about her in a way different to the way you do your other friends."

"Yeah mom because she's my best friend though, not because I like her or anything." He quickly defended himself.

"Okay honey. I'm just saying, I really like May a lot and would definitely approve of you two starting to date."

By this point Ash had lost all hope in his mother and simply pulled his cap over his face, hiding the blush that was starting to form over his face. He heard the sound of the shower turning off and realized his mother was still talking off in the kitchen. Afraid of what his mother would say while May was around, he dashed into the kitchen to plead his case.

"Mom please don't say any of that stuff while May is around. I don't want you to make her feel uncomfortable. It would change everything if she thought I liked her."

"Aha! So you admit it!"

"MOM! That is not what I meant. Just please don't say anything else."

"Alright Ashy, I'm just saying, you two would be so cute together!"

"Mother…" The irritation was evident in his response now. His mother simply motioned with her hand that she was zipping her lips closed and tossing away the key. Ash nodded in relief and went back to the couch. A couple minutes passed by and May finally finished getting ready. She stepped into the living room and saw Ash flipping through channels with Pikachu taking a nap on his lap. She decided to sit next to him and see if there was anything good on the television. After a couple of minutes, they both sighed in defeat and turned it off.

"So Ash, I heard you yelling while I was taking a shower. What were you and your mom talking about?" She asked him, batting her eyelashes at him as her curiosity grew. Just as he was thinking of an excuse, in came his mother to worsen the situation.

"Yeah Ashy, what were we talking about," she asked sarcastically. "I already forgot." She added on innocently popping her head into the living room from the kitchen. Ash nervously laughed while thinking of a proper excuse to give. His trusty partner was dozing away unable to help, and he cocked his head back on the couch in defeat.

"This is gonna' be a long day…" He eventually sighed.

* * *

 **The next chapter will hopefully be up soon. As I said after the last chapter, I hope the pace of the story is to your liking, and the new pokemon will definitely keep coming so post which ones you'd like to see featured.**

 **I try my best to equally include all aspects of a good pokemon fanfic, from the battles, to the pokemon, to the dialogue and plot, to of course the shipping! So let me know how that's going for you all.**

 **Thank you once again, next chapter will be up soon. Leave a review while you wait ;)**

 **-HRS**


	3. An Icy Situation

**Surprise! Bet you guys didn't expect an update so soon.**

 **I figured I might as well take advantage of the free time I have now, before its gone, especially with Kingdom Hearts 2.8 coming out this week. Who knows how much time I'll have to write once I get my hands on that.**

 **Well, once again, thank you to those who are following the progress of this story, as well as those who review! I greatly appreciate it.**

 **Anyways, onward with chapter 3!**

* * *

"Oh come on Ash. Why can't you just tell me?" the brunette pleaded with the trainer as they found themselves on the road to Professor Oak's lab. They figured since there was not much to do back at home, they would spend some time with their pokémon while they waited for Brock to arrive.

"I already told you May, we were just making small talk. Its nothing important," Ash sighed as his excuse was becoming less convincing with each time May persisted on him answering truthfully.

"Yeah right. So, explain why your mom kept checking back on us. I could've sworn I even saw her wink at us."

"Look, there's the lab May! Race ya there!"

Ash darted towards the lab, hoping that the distraction would work long enough for him to find a better one. As he ran off, May simply huffed in defeat and raced after the boy, trying her hardest to keep up. She realized as they ran that Ash was in a lot better shape than usual. The more she stared at him the more she realized how defined his muscles had become. His back was wider and his posture was ideal, although that could be attributed to carrying Pikachu on his shoulder for such a long period. He seemed to effortlessly sprint towards the lab, barely breaking a sweat. Once they reached the front gate, May was considerably more exhausted than Ash, the latter looking more energized than when they began.

"Ash how did you get so fit all of a sudden?" the brunette asked as she continued to examine her best friend from head to toe.

Ash simply chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "I honestly don't think I am May. I simply started training more with my pokémon instead of just watching them." Pikachu turned to face his trainer eyeing him with a confused face.

"Well it definitely paid off, you barely broke a sweat." May began to make her way towards the door while Pikachu tapped Ash on the shoulder and gave him a knowing look. Before the two followed May, the boy made sure she was out of hearing distance.

"Not yet Pikachu, I'll tell them eventually. Just give it some time." Ash answered the look his pokémon was giving him. Pikachu nodded as they both caught up to May and entered the unlocked lab. As the trio entered the lab, they saw that the lights were off to almost all the rooms and there was silence surrounding them. As they searched for any sign of life in the house, they figured the yard was the best place to search next. After they opened the doors to the fields behind the lab, the three found Gary, in full lab coat attire, filling the bowls of a couple pokémon. Ash was quick to signal to May to keep quiet, placing a finger over his lips, as he attempted to get behind Gary undetected.

"Well that should do it," he slowly got up, stretching before coming to a stop. "Nice try Ash." He shouted towards seemingly no one, before finally turning around to face a frozen Ash walking up to him on his tiptoes, Pikachu next to him mimicking his trainer's movement.

"Aw come on Gary. How did you know I was even behind you?" the trainer whined at his former rival.

"Oh please, Ashy boy, you know neither you or Leaf could ever sneak up on me when we were little. Not that much has changed…"

Unbeknownst to Gary, though, while he was giving Ash the break down of his inability to be spooked, May had silently moved around the two boys and tiptoed her way towards the pokémon researcher. Ash tried his very best to endure long enough in order to keep May's cover.

"BOO!" May yelled, as right before Gary could finish, May reached her destination and quickly grabbed him by his sides, poking him and startling the boy to the ground.

"GAH! May what the-" the boy yelled from the ground. As he was slowly getting up, both May and Ash jumped into the air sharing a high five before holding their stomachs from laughing at Gary's reaction. "Laugh it up you two, just know it took both of you to take me down."

"A wins a win Gary," Ash finished with a wink. Remembering why they came in the first place though, he looked around the fields, realizing Gary was alone in the fields. "Where's the professor Gary? And Tracey, for that matter?"

"The professor needed to do some field researcher and Tracey decided to tag along, hoping to catch a few sketches while they worked. I decided to stay back and watch over the pokémon. Where's everyone else? Are you guys ready for your trip?"

"Well Brock should be back later today and Dawn and Paul are meeting us at the docks tomorrow morning." May answered.

"It sure stinks you can't come with us Gary. Remember that time mom took the three of us on that cruise?" Ash added in.

"Of course. Poor Leaf spent the majority of the trip puking in the bathroom." The boys let out a chuckle as they made their way to the pokémon. Once they reached a certain part of the yard, a rumbling began as the ground beneath them started shaking. Gary quickly stepped back and motioned to May to follow his lead, as she would probably want to avoid the aftermath of Ash's pokémon trampling over him. Ash quickly saw this and rolled his eyes.

"Well at least I know you'll stick with me through thick and thin buddy. Isn't that right, Pika-" Before he could finish, he took a glance and realized his faithful partner was no longer on his shoulder and had taken a spot on May's instead, simply holding up his paw in a small peace sign, a nervous smile on his face. "So much for **faithful companion** ," Ash shouted over his shoulder, hoping to guilt trip his beloved pokémon.

"Pi pika chu pika pi!" The electric type answered back.

"I am **not** being over dramatic. I just expect you to be by my side during these kinds of thi-" was all Ash could get out before his pokémon reached him and engulfed him in a ceremonious group hug that left the trainer gasping for air. His pokemon meant no harm, but the relationship that Ash developed with each of them was truly unique and important and therefore led to these sort of displays of affection.

"Alright guys," he got out between hugs, "I love you all too, but why don't you all go say hi to May too." As soon as the words left his mouth, May instantly tensed up and looked to Pikachu for assistance. However, the mouse had once again hopped off her shoulder and perched himself on Gary, with the same nervous grin on his face.

"Eep!" Was all she could say, before the waves of Ash's pokémon began to show their "affection" and "love" for her the same way they did with their beloved trainer. While May began to feel the affects of the group hug, she thought about how close she was to his pokémon. She felt comfortable with almost all of them and cared for them almost as much as she did her own pokémon. _I wonder if they're this friendly with the rest of Ash's friends. I don't ever see them trample over Brock or Misty and they've known them for longer. Brock always says that pokémon usually display feelings felt by their trainers, but does that mean Ash feels different with me than he does his other friends? I wonder if that's even a good thing._ May quickly dismissed the thought and slowly broke out of the embrace to join the two trainers.

"It's a good thing you got rid of most of your Tauros, Ash. If not, May would probably be a goner by now." Gary told the raven-haired boy, who could not help but laugh at May's attempts to break free from his pokémon.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that May. But hey, that means they really like you." He tried to look at the bright side.

"Well I don't know if I'll survive much longer if they like me anymore than that." She answered, fixing the bandana back on her head after it slipped off during the tumble to the ground.

* * *

After May finished brushing off, the three decided to head back into the lab to make some lunch for a picnic outside. They figured since none of them were very good in the kitchen, they would bring out simple snacks like a couple sandwiches and fruits. May went over to a poke block machine the professor kept in the kitchen to fix up some poke blocks for their pokémon to enjoy. Ash was grabbing slices of bread and passing them to Gary who placed the slices of ham, cheese, lettuce, and tomato between the bread. After they each finished tasking, they grabbed a large blanket the professor kept in the closet and headed outside; Ash and Gary helped set it up while May called their pokémon back to enjoy the poke blocks she made for them. After they all ate, they decided to rest up and lay on the blanket while they stared up at the sky. The day was wonderful for a picnic as not a cloud was in sight; the sun was bearing down on their faces but was not overpowering as a gentle breeze constantly flew through the air. May asked the boys to continue telling stories of their childhood and of their other friend Leaf, whom she had only heard briefly of from Ash.

"Yeah, Leaf was our other friend who started her journey as a trainer the same day me and Gary did," Ash began. "She's really nice, and a pretty good trainer, although she prefers grass types. That's mainly the reason we started calling her Leaf to begin with."

"She finished in the top 8 of the Johto Silver Conference the year after Ash and I competed in it, but I haven't kept in much contact with her since then, only speaking here and there." Gary added in, as each of the trainers stared at the bright blue sky.

"Now that I think about it, I haven't really heard from her recently either. I hope she's okay though." Ash chimed in, a touch of concern apparent in his last words.

After hearing the way Ash spoke about Leaf, May began to feel that same sting in her chest she recalled feeling the day before. _There it is again. The same feeling I had when Dawn was talking about Ash finding out about her growing relationship to Paul. I know I shouldn't be feeling this way, but I can't help but feel jealous of her. I wonder if Ash worries about me the way he does with this Leaf girl._ Not wanting to continue dwelling on her negative thoughts, May thought of a quick way to change the conversation.

"Hey Ash, how about a quick battle?" She quickly sat up as she offered the trainer.

"Sure May, you're on. Do you think you can referee the match Gary?"

"Yeah no problem. Let's go to the field."

With that, the trio made their way to a clearing that allowed sufficient room for the battle to take place. During the walk there, May was thinking about which pokémon to use. She remembered Ash's battle with Paul the day before and thought about how much stronger he was. She knew she needed an experienced battler, hoping to show Ash that she too had advanced in her training just as he had. Ash on the other hand, was too pumped up to think about strategy just yet. No matter how many years passed, Ash knew his love for pokémon would never cease and the enthusiasm he held for new challenges would only grow with the new experiences he had. Once they reached the field, May took one end while Ash the other; Gary stood in the middle, ready to begin. The pokémon all gathered around the field knowing their trainer could easily call on any one of them.

"This will be a one on one match up. The winner will be decided when either pokémon is unable to continue."

"Ladies first," Ash said as he bowed and smiled at his opponent.

"What a gentleman," May responded, stifling a laugh. "Glaceon, I choose you!"

The ice type Eeveelution jumped over to the field and readied herself for the battle. At the call of her name, Pikachu, who was lying on the ground near Ash, perked up, suddenly more interested in the battle. Glaceon spotted the electric type and quickly winked in that direction, causing a slight blush to form over his yellow fur.

"Well in that case, might as well make it interesting. Leafeon, you're up!" Just as Ash finished, a four-legged tan colored foxlike pokémon appeared in front of Ash. She had dark brown paws and several green sprouts appearing from its body, the largest, resembling a leaf, protruding its head. Before the battle could commence, Leafeon ran towards Ash and began to rub herself around his legs. "Leafeon, I love you too, but you got a battle to win." The grass-type simply nodded and ran back in position. Gary looked at both trainers, who nodded, and continued.

"Alright, trainers if you're ready… Begin!"

"Alright Leafeon, quickly, Double Team followed by Quick-Attack!" The grass-type began making doubles of itself and quickly surround Glaceon, preparing to pounce.

"Glaceon, jump and use Icy Wind."

The Leafeon clones began to zigzag their way towards Glaceon at incredible speeds, but before the grass type could land the attack, Glaceon quickly jumped high into the air before letting out the ice attack. Glaceon took the momentum from the jump and used it to turn a full 360 degrees, wiping out the entirety of the clones and finally hitting the real Leafeon. The grass type stumbled backward towards Ash as the super effective move struck but quickly got back up.

"Nice counter May," Ash added, surprised by the effortless ability her Glaceon displayed while dodging the attack. "Now Leafeon, you know what to do."

Leafeon charged up a small orange orb before firing it into the sky. Once the orb reached its apex, the intensity of the sun worsened and the field became increasingly hotter. May immediately recognized the move and began her counter.

"Glaceon, quick, use Hail!" The ice type followed her trainers lead and began to charge up a small blue orb similar to the one just fired by Leafeon, but before she could finish, a large black and purple orb shot forward and struck the ice type.

"Glace!" she yelled in pain as the Shadow Ball was a direct hit.

"Glaceon! Are you okay?" Her pokémon quickly got back on her feet, much to the relief of her trainer as well as a certain electric type who tensed up after seeing the Eevee evolution fall. "Alright Glaceon, lets try a Quick Attack"

"Leafeon use Quick Attack as well!"

Both pokémon charged at the other at high speeds, closing the distance between them in a matter of seconds.

"Glaceon, stop! Use the speed from Quick Attack to dodge and use Ice Fang!"

"Quick Leafeon, get out of there!"

Before the grass type could react, her momentum from the Quick Attack had already taken her too close to Glaceon. The ice type quickly evaded the attack and struck from the side, baring her icy fangs in her opponent's side. However, Leafeon roared in pain and was quickly able to run back towards her side to avoid further damage.

"Leafeon can you keep battling?" The grass type simply nodded back at her trainer. "Alright, then lets switch it up a bit. Quick Attack once more!"

 _What… I wonder what Ash has planned, he clearly saw the last Quick Attack failed to hit. Only one way to find out._ "Glaceon Ice Beam! Stop Leafeon before she gets too close!"

Glaceon began shooting Ice Beam towards the grass type, but before it landed, Leafeon began to double, and triple, creating multiple copies.

"Shoot! Glaceon quick, use Ice Beam on the copies. Find the real one!" Glaceon nodded and began to frantically shoot Ice Beams towards the copies, slowly trimming down the numbers until only one was left. The ice type fired a last Ice Beam, certain she had hit her mark, when the last Leafeon turned out to be a clone as well.

"Now Leafeon, Solarbeam!"

Before either May or her pokémon could react, Leafeon rushed from behind Glaceon, and with the boost from Sunny Day, fired a powerful close range Solarbeam that took no time to charge. With no time to react, Glaceon took the attack head on, an explosion following the impact. May searched frantically in the dust for any sign of her pokémon, while Ash did the same. After the dust settled, both pokémon stood panting, clearly worn out by the battle, staring at their worthy opponent in front of them. Both trainers knew their pokémon had about one attack left in them and had to act fast.

"Alright Leafeon, get in close and finish this off with Leaf Blade!"

"Leaf!" his pokémon let out as it charged towards its opponent.

"Now Glaceon, use Rest!" the ice type closed its eyes as it was surrounded in a green aura that quickly regenerated the pokémon's strength. Once she finished glowing however, Glaceon was in a deep sleep.

 _What! What's May thinking, sure Glaceon is rested and back to normal, but she won't be able to dodge Leafeon's attack. What's she thinking_. Ash was running scenarios in his head but proceeded to change attacks.

"Alright Leafeon, finish this with Solarbeam instead."

With Sunny day still in play, Leafeon fired a powerful white light towards the sleeping pokémon. Once the dust cleared, Ash and Leafeon expected to find a knocked out Glaceon, but were shocked to find they missed their target.

"Now Glaceon, Blizzard!"

Both Ash and Leafeon frantically searched around to find their opponent until Ash felt an icy breeze reach him from above, "Leafeon, look up!" The grass type found her opponent high above her, eyes glowing and her dangles waving forward as she brewed up a powerful snow storm. Being in the state she was, Leafeon was far too tired to fire back and resorted to dodging around the field as pieces of hail fell down on her. The exhaustion eventually caught up with the grass type and she was pelted with the super effective attack. Glaceon ran back to her trainer's side, satisfied with the good work as Ash, as well as Gary, stood frozen in place (no pun intended, haha!), at the events they just witnessed. Leafeon was out cold (bam! again… haha. Okay that's it), with swirls over her eyes. Ash quickly ran over to his knocked out pokémon, placing her in his arms, a warm smile on his face. "You did great, I'm really proud of you on your second battle Leafeon. Now get a nice long rest."

Now Gary stood frozen but from what Ash just commented. "You're telling me that was Leafeon's second battle… **ever**?"

Ash let out a large grin and nodded, "She's strong right?"

Gary simply nodded as the boys went over to congratulate May. Once they reached her, Ash was a little surprised to find his trusty companion already praising May and her Glaceon over such a great battle.

"Pii pika pi ka chuu pika pii pika ka! (Man, he didn't even see that Blizzard coming! I mean you were great out there Glace!)"

"Glace glaceon glace ace. (Oh stop, it was thanks to May we won)" The ice type answered back, feeling flustered by all the praise Pikachu was giving her.

"Talk about traitor," Ash aimed at his so called, loyal friend.

"Chaaa," he answered, nervously rubbing the back of his head as he has seen his trainer do countless times.

"He's right though May, that was a great battle. You really beat me fair and square!" Ash turned to his friend who blushed similarly to her pokémon, hearing the praise from her mentor.

"Oh it was nothing Ash, I must've got lucky today." She answered, sheepishly laughing.

"Not at all May, you made Ashy boy look like a complete amateur out there. Maybe you should start off handicapped next time to give him a chance," Gary added, causing the laughter of the surrounding pokémon. May chuckled and playfully punched his shoulder while Ash simply rolled his eyes and turned back to May.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny Gary. Anyway, May how did you do it? How was Glaceon able to jump into the air and attack while being asleep."

"Yeah, I was definitely surprised by the move too. I was too busy looking at Leafeon attack to catch anything," Gary added.

"It was the Chesto Berry, right May?"

Quickly, the three trainers turned around to find a familiar face approaching them, a small smile on his face.

"Oh hey Brock, you got here sooner than we thought." Ash said, as the trio went to say hello to their friend.

"Not really. You guys were probably so caught up in your battle to realize the time, but its almost 7 o'clock." He responded, as both May and Ash were a little taken back by the knowledge. "But anyway, May had Glaceon hold a Chesto Berry before the battle started, knowing she would probably need to restore her strength at some point during the battle, am I right?"

"Spot on Brock," she answered smiling. "Right before the attack landed, Glaceon ate her Chesto Berry and was able to dodge in time, but only by the skin of her teeth. That Leafeon sure packs a punch, Ash. I can't believe that was only her second battle." May finished, rubbing the grass type who was regaining consciousness in Ash's arms. She cooed contently as May began to rub her behind the ears.

"Wow May, I would've never thought of that. Looks like you've been training just as hard as any of us during this time. But you know me, and we'll want a rematch." He winked at his friend, before smiling confidently.

"We'll be ready Ash," she fired back, also smiling while the competitive fire gleamed in her sapphire eyes.

"We better get going you two. Part of the reason I came was because your mom told me to let you guys know dinner will be ready soon," their older companion chimed in.

"Alright! Let's get going guys. You can come too if you want Gary. I'm sure my mom won't mind feeding an extra mouth." Ash offered, already ready to hit the road home.

"That's alright Ash. I should probably wait for Gramps and Tracey to get back. You guys go on ahead."

* * *

Ash, May and Brock said their goodbyes to Gary before making the walk back to Ash's home. The three made small talk on their way back, talking about Brock's trip and how his family reacted to the news about the trip. Pikachu attempted his best at humming popular pop songs but did more harm than good even though according to him, he had a "lovely voice." The rest of the trip was fairly quiet as the sun began to set as they walked. Once again, Ash felt as though they were being followed, but to a lesser extent than the previous day. He finally attributed it to the paranoia he was developing from his harsh training and shook the feeling away. They finally reached Ash's home where Mrs. Ketchum was waiting with plates of food for each of them.

After each of them ate until their stomachs were content, they decided to head to sleep earlier than usual, seeing as how they would wake up early the next day to get ready for their trip. Once again, Brock took the guest room, while May slept in Ash's room. They each quickly were changed into their night attire while May and Ash avoided speaking of the incident the previous night, deciding to omit that bit of information from Brock. Their older companion said his goodnights before heading upstairs to sleep. May and Ash were on the couch, watching the ending of a local pokémon contest, May had begged Ash to watch with her. As the sleep was beginning to take over, May felt her head slowly fall over, abruptly waking her up. She decided to discreetly scoot closer to Ash while his attention was on the television. Pikachu was long gone, quickly curling up on Ash's lap before falling asleep. May once again felt her eyes slowly be overcome with sleep causing her head to one again slump to the side. However, considering the closeness of their bodies, May's head simply rested on Ash's shoulder. The boy did not realize when May had gotten so close to him.

"Hey May, maybe you should head upstairs to get some sleep. We can finish watching tomorrow." There was no response, only a small yawn by May before she scooted closer and made herself more comfortable on Ash's shoulder. _Great, now what. I can't move without waking up May, and I don't know how comfortable we're gonna be sleeping while sitting on this couch. We really need to rest before the trip too._ Ash took a moment to look around him before spotting a blanket on the edge of the couch opposite to where he sat. He tried his best to reach the blanket without waking either one of his sleeping companions. Using all the muscles in his body, he reached as far as physically possible over May's sleeping head. With one quick lunge, he grabbed the blanket and yelled internally for the accomplishment. He used both hand to open the blanket and place it over himself, Pikachu, and May. Suddenly, May stirred in her sleep as she felt the sudden warmth of the blanket, instinctively reaching over Ash and placing her arm across his chest, locking her hand on his hip. With a small smile forming on her face, the young brunette, unconsciously, once again made herself more comfortable and snuggled into Ash's side. The raven-haired boy was shocked at what had happened and felt all the blood in his body rush to his head.

 _Thank goodness my mom isn't here to see this. She'd never stop teasing us and making May feel uncomfortable. She's probably just having a good dream,_ He thought to himself. Although, feeling extremely uncomfortable by the closeness of May's body to his own, that warm feeling inside Ash started to return. _I guess things could be worse,_ he tried to assure himself. He took one quick glance at his friend's face who was snuggled into his shoulder, smiling in content at her position. _All that matters is that you're happy May. For that I'll be willing to do basically anything._

"Goodnight May," Ash silently whispered into the brunette's ear.

* * *

Deep inside a cave, on the top of a snowy mountain, a group of powerful pokémon are discussing the arrival of an important young trainer.

" _The boy is returning."_ States one of the pokémon present.

" _Yes, I heard it as well. They have scouts watching his every move."_ Adds another one of the pokémon.

" _You know as well as we do that we're going to need him. I know you don't wanna drag him into this again, but if we don't, you know they definitely will."_ The third says, calling the attention of the last of the group.

A long sigh can be heard coming from the pokémon that the other three seem to be speaking to.

" _You're right. Prepare for his arrival than."_

The first three pokémon all fly from the cave and into the icy storm outside, each flying in different directions. The last pokémon remains in the cave, thinking of the consequences of their actions.

" _I'm sorry Ash."_ He finally says, before flying out of the cave and diving into the depths of the sea.

* * *

 **Talk about cliffhanger, huh?**

 **What will be happening to our hero? Stay tuned to find out.**

 **I know this chapter is a little shorter than the others but I enjoyed writing the battle. I always wondered how in the heck a sleeping pokemon began to eat a berry... Pokemon logic, eh? Might as well use it to my advantage.**

 **I promise guys, they will make it on that boat haha! I won't delay any longer, ONWARD TO PARADISE!**

 **As always, thank you and please be so kind to review the chapter! Next chapter will probably be up a little later next week.**

 **-HRS**


	4. Onward to Paradise!

**Chapter 4 is up. Thanks again to those who read and review. I appreciate all your suggestions and I do take them into consideration.**

 **Dawn and Paul are finally back and the main plot is ready to begin. Hope you guys enjoy. This is the longest chapter yet, so I'll probably wait a bit before posting the next one.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

The day finally arrived for the gang to begin their trip to paradise. The sun was slowly rising through the morning sky and sunlight slowly reached the faces of the pair of teenagers sleeping on the couch. While sleeping, the weight of May's body had slowly forced Ash's to fall towards one end of the couch with hers following his lead. Because of this, May had a good portion of her body lying on top of his. Thankfully, Pikachu had woken up during the night and decided to move towards the other edge of the sofa; if not for that, he would have been squished between the two. As the sunlight crept through the curtains of the window and on to the faces of the sleeping trainers, they both slowly opened their eyes, their faces only inches apart. It took a short moment for either of them to realize the position they were in and the events that had transpired since they fell asleep. One was in utter shock and embarrassment while the other drew the wrong conclusion almost immediately.

"ASH KETCHUM! What do you think you're doing!" the brunette began her rant as she quickly got out of bed and began yelling in his face. "You think just because I'm asleep you can take advantage of me like that!"

"But May, you fe-" the boy tried to explain, hands in the air hoping May did not attempt to make a move for his face.

"I can't believe you would even try something like that Ash! I'm so disappointed in you."

"But May, I didn't do any-"

"Save it Ash Ketchum! You've got some nerve acting that way after-"

Just then, the two were quickly silenced as a visibly upset Pikachu sent a weak but still effective thunderbolt through both his friends' bodies. Apparently, with all the commotion caused by the two, they had disturbed the electric type's sleep in which he was in the middle of being declared an official Knight of Ketchup Kingdom. The attack was enough to deep fry both Ash and May as they each fell backwards, slightly twitching as the electricity escaped their bodies. Pikachu waited for them to regain consciousness before giving them an earful.

"Pikachu pika pi ka chu chu pika pi chuu!" He started, pointing at May and acting out their collapse on the sofa. "Chu pika pi chu pika chu pii!" He continued, dramatically falling towards one side of the sofa before pointing towards Ash.

"So you mean I knocked Ash over and fell on top of him?" The brunette asked, suddenly feeling embarrassed for her earlier outburst. Pikachu shook his head, nodding as she finally realized what happened.

"Oh sure, her best friend tries to explain and it doesn't work, but one little thunderbolt and all of a sudden she's quiet" Ash rolled his eyes, speaking about his brunette companion.

"Oh stop it grumpy pants, I'm sorry for accusing you of taking advantage. Forgive me, please?" She pleaded him with her hands clasped together and in front of her face, signature puppy eyes present. As mad as he wanted to be, he felt himself giving in to her request, wondering whether it was the puppy eyes or the smile on her face as she genuinely asked for forgiveness. Whatever, the case, he finally gave in.

"Fine," he said with a grunt.

"Well I see the happy couple is finally awake," a voice reached out for up the stairs. Before the two could respond, Brock came walking down the stairs, a mischievous grin on his face as he saw the flustered faces of his friends.

"I do not love May!" Ash quickly yelled, feeling irritated that now Brock had joined the teasing his mother began the day before. He was tired of explaining himself and felt his face heating up once again at the accusation. The thought of liking May was not as much a problem as the implications everyone around them seemed to have about the two. However, May was beginning to feel hurt that Ash answered seemingly without a doubt in his voice, almost as if loving her was a terrible idea. Her feeling of sadness was quickly replaced with anger towards him and his inconsiderate response.

"Yeah, who could like a big jerk like him anyway," she said, visibly upset as she sniffled and walked towards the stairs. "I'm gonna go get ready since I'm obviously not welcome down here," she finished as she headed up the stairs and slammed the door.

"What's wrong with her…" Ash asked, completely unaware of why May would be upset with what he said. Brock however, knew exactly why May was upset and felt guilty for causing the tension between the group with his simple joke. He decided it would probably be best to explain to Ash why she was upset with the hope he would try to make things better.

"Ash, May is probably upset by the way you answered. Even if you don't love her in that way, you made it seem like the idea of loving her was a terrible thing. She probably feels hurt and unwanted." The older companion finished, as he placed a hand on Ash's shoulder.

"But I didn't mean it that way at all. I was just tired of my mom teasing me about it that when you assumed the same thing I just kind of snapped. May's one of my best friends, I don't want her to feel like I don't like her."

"Are you sure that you don't feel something more for May? I've known you for a long time Ash and of all the people we've travelled with, she seems to hold a special place among your friends."

Ash began to think about what Brock was telling him. _I mean, I guess I do feel closer to May than I do some of my other friends. Is it really because I love her, though? Sure, we've always been close, but part of it has to do with the fact that I've been almost like a mentor for her. I never even thought about it being something more than just that._ He took a moment to look at Pikachu, hoping his trusty companion could help him to figure out his feelings. "What do you think bud? You've been with me from the beginning and you probably know me better than I know myself. Do you think I love May, too?" Unfortunately, pokémon were not accustomed to use the word "love" between them, and the idea of it was almost a foreign concept to them. Pikachu knew he loved Ash, but not in the way a couple would. He loved him as a best friend and brother, and he knew Ash was not talking about seeing May like a sister; it was more than that.

"Pi," the electric mouse answered, shrugging his shoulders and feeling bad about being unable to help his best friend.

Ash understood his pokémon was in an uncomfortable position in which he had little experience, but still felt slightly disappointed that he would need to figure out his feelings on his own. He was sure however of one thing. He knew that he did not want to have May angry with him and wanted to make things right.

* * *

"Ugh, he's so impossible! One moment he's all 'You're my best friend May, you mean so much to me', the next he's just as dense as ever." She was quietly yelling at herself as she tossed her clothes around Ash's bed, looking for clothes to wear before hopping in the shower. May decided to let out Glaceon to help her decide on what to wear, and so far, the ice type was simply doing her best to dodge the piles of clothing her trainer was flinging around in her angry tantrum. "I don't even know why I care, Glaceon. Its not like I love him either."

"Glace glaceon."

"What do you mean 'You don't mean that'? Yes I do."

"Glaceon," she flatly answered, giving her trainer an accusing look.

"Okay, I'll admit that I've always been attracted to Ash, but that doesn't mean I love him or anything. Sure, he's caring and loving, always putting his friends and pokémon above anything else and sure, he's taken the time to teach me about pokémon and contests when he himself was new to the idea of it, but that doesn't mean anything." As she finished, she noticed her pokémon was just as unconvinced as May was after the words left her mouth. She knew she owed a lot of her success and experiences to Ash. Deep down she was coming to the realization that maybe she did harbor feelings for her best friend. The more she thought about it, the more frightened she got. _After what just happened, its clear that even if I did like him that way, he wouldn't return back those feelings._ She thought to herself. _Ugh, this vacation needs to start already. I need to take my mind off all of this Ash talk._

Glaceon noticed May stopped tossing clothes around and simply sat on the bed, motionless and deep in thought and curled up on her trainers lap rubbing by her trainer's chin hoping to comfort her. The sudden icy touch broke May out of her trance and caused her to smile down at her trusting pokémon. "Let's go get ready Glaceon, we're probably gonna head out to the docks soon." With that, May finished grabbing her clothes and ran downstairs into the bathroom, hoping neither Brock or Ash stopped her on the way. She was still slightly upset at Ash and was not ready to face him about it just yet. A hot shower would help ease her thoughts and put her in a better mood for the rest of the day as well.

While May was in the shower, Brock decided to cook breakfast for the four of them after Delia woke and told the boys she was stepping out to finish some errands before their trip. After he saw May quickly run into the shower, Ash figured it was best to give her some space before speaking to her and went into his room to finish packing. He quickly finished and grabbed his bag as well as May's, and a new set of clothes, returning downstairs and sitting on the couch while he waited for his turn in the bathroom. Brock had woken up earlier than the two and was already ready to go which was why he was able to volunteer to make the breakfast as Mrs. Ketchum left. After a few more minutes, May stepped out of the shower, wearing a light blue blouse, a pair of white shorts and some sandals, preparing herself for the hot weather of the Orange Islands. Her hair was still slightly wet so May decided to leave her hair down, placing her trademark red bandana in her bag. As she stepped out, Ash's jaw fell slightly as he saw May's new outfit. He held the urge to say something though, as she simply stepped into the kitchen, paying him no mind.

"Well, I guess that answers the question of whether she's still mad at me," Ash told the pokémon sitting on his shoulder. "Let's go get ready buddy, its almost 9 and we need to be there before 10 to wait for Dawn and Paul." The two quickly went into the bathroom and began getting ready.

May was sitting in the kitchen watching Brock work while Glaceon was eating some of the pokémon food Brock already had prepared. Brock could feel that May was still a little upset and thought it would be best to try and distract her in hopes she would start to feel better as the day progressed.

"So May, have you spoken to Dawn? Do you know if they're almost here?"

"I spoke to her yesterday in the afternoon. She said they would be leaving last night but I haven't spoken to her since. I sure hope they're not late. Those ships don't like to be kept waiting for anyone." The brunette answered, now thinking about how it went between Dawn and Paul after the conversation she had with the fellow coordinator.

"Yeah, I sure hope so. We all know that Dawn has a tendency to take a little too long getting ready." May laughed as Brock finished, remembering the time the blunette refused to go out one day after her Pachurisu accidently electrocuted her, turning her normally straight hair into a blue afro.

"Hopefully there's no technical difficulties with her hair this time," she added, breaking into a laugh with Brock joining in. "It feels good to laugh. I feel like I haven't done that in a while." She added, instantly bringing her mood back down.

"Don't be so hard on Ash, May. You know him and how he would never want to say anything to hurt you."

"Yeah… I guess you're right Brock. Thank you for that." She smiled at her older friend, receiving a small nod and smile back.

As the two were having their talk, Ash had finished getting ready and stepped out of the shower, instantly hit with the smell of Brock's delicious cooking. "Man Brock, where would be without you, the food smells delicious," Ash entered the kitchen saying with signature grin on his face.

"Just glad to be of help." He answered humbly.

May could see that Ash was trying to avoid looking directly at her and started to feel guilty that she had made her best friend feel awkward in his own house. She got up and walked over to him, but right before Ash could start speaking, she pulled him in for a hug, much to the surprise of the raven-haired boy.

"I'm sorry Ash. I shouldn't have walked out like that. I didn't mean to call you a jerk either," she told him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"You don't have to apologize May. I should be more careful with what I say, especially if it can end up hurting you." He answered, feeling his face heat up once again but returning the embrace nevertheless. May broke the hug and smiled at her friend, feeling glad that they were able to quickly bury the hatchet before it escalated into anything bigger. As if on cue, both May and Ash's stomachs growled, relieved that Brock was beginning to serve breakfast.

"Well, now that that's settled… Time to eat!" Brock declared, quickly clearing before the pair of hungry trainers waiting to devour their food trampled him.

* * *

After the group was done eating, they decided to be on their way, realizing it was close to the departure time. Thankfully, the port was only a few minutes away and Mrs. Ketchum returned just in time to say goodbye. The group said their goodbyes and thanked her once again for the gift before they made their way to the ship. Mrs. Ketchum made sure to publicly remind Ash to change his underwear, much to the embarrassment of the young trainer, while specifically asking May to take care of her Ash, causing her a slight blush before agreeing to her request. Brock and Pikachu laughed at the embarrassed pair before departing, excited at the new adventures that would await them. The gang quickly reached the port, looking at the giant clock in the middle of the platform, reading 9:45. Ash was clearly getting impatient as they sat down to wait for their friends.

"Dawn and Paul should be here by now. Have you heard from them May?" She simply shook her head as Ash continued to watch the clock. "We need to start boarding soon and they're no where to be found. I knew this would happen." Ash was visibly upset and sat down between May and Brock. The brunette saw this and placed a hand on his, squeezing it gently.

"They'll make it in time, Ash. They still have ten minutes." She tried to assure him.

"I sure hope so. In the meantime, we should probably start walking to the ship. I don't even know which one is ours." He answered, pulling out his ticket and looking for any indication of a gate number. "It says our ship is this way, Gate 6D."

As the group made their way to their gate, they noticed the different ships and their sizes; some of them were small meant for only a small group of people to travel to nearby Islands like Cinnabar and the Whirl Islands while the larger ones headed to entire different regions like Johto and Sinnoh. They finally reached their gate and each of their jaws dropped, each staring in awe of the ship they would be boarding. Compared to the other boats, theirs was easily about three times larger than the rest. It had several floors and was the length of about two pokémon stadiums. They were shocked that they would be traveling with that many people, wondering if the island could even hold all of them. Thankfully, the line to enter the ship was not as long as they expected as they quickly reached the entrance of the ship, each with tickets in hand.

"They're late, I'm gonna go look for them." Ash offered, visibly worried his friends were not going to make it in time.

"Ash by the time you go and come back you might not make it in time. Let's just wait at the door for them to come." May reasoned with him.

"Yeah Ash, I don't think there's much you can do right now but hope they make it." Brock added.

Realizing his friends were probably right, he nodded and the four of them stood at the door, counting down the minutes before the ship closed its doors. The clock read 9:55 and one of the attendants who was scanning tickets approached the group to let them know they only had five minutes before the doors would close and the ship departed. Another three minutes passed and the attendant approached them again, advising them to enter the ship before it was too late.

"Ash maybe we should just go inside. Maybe they can catch another ferry and meet us there." May tried to convince him.

"I'm sorry miss but unfortunately, this is the only trip making the Paradise Tour through the Orange Islands." The attendant responded.

"So the ship is stopping on more than one island?" Brock asked.

"Yes sir, that's why it's called the Paradise Tour. Now if you would not like to be left behind, please make your way inside so I can scan your tickets and we can leave."

"Ash we have to go," May pleaded with the boy as the clock read 9:59. Ash was frozen in place, praying that by some miracle, his friends appeared from thin air and they could finally begin their vacation together. After another thirty seconds, he simply bowed his head and nodded, walking over to the attendant. Right as the attendant was scanning his ticket, he heard the sound of a dragon roaring. He quickly ran out again, much to the annoyance of the attendant and looked up at the sky, relief covering his face as he saw them. Dawn and Paul were riding behind an exhausted-looking Salamence, each waving their hands hoping to get the attention of the others.

"Dawn over here! Hurry up, they're getting ready to leave!" Ash shouted at his friends. Salamence used the last bit of energy she had to speed towards the dock before landing. Paul quickly recalled his pokémon, thanking it for all its hard work, before the two ran over to where Ash and the rest of their friends were, making it just as the clock hit 10 o'clock. The attendant huffed but proceeded to scan the tickets and letting them board the ship, immediately shutting the door after they entered and signaling to the crew that they were ready to depart. Paul and Dawn both bend over, hands on their knees panting as they tried to catch their breath from the quick sprint they had.

"Talk about cutting it close guys. If you guys were only a minute later, the ship would've left you guys. What happened?" Brock asked the pair while May and Ash chuckled watching their friends trying to catch their breath. Their faces was one of pure relief, happy their two friends made it just in the nick of time.

"We… fell asleep… didn't mean to… leave so late… so tired though." Dawn got out between breaths.

"Dawn… said… five more… minutes" Paul finished for them.

The gang all laughed and made their way into the ferry, taking in the immensity of the ship they would be spending the next day in. Before they left Ash's home, Delia had told them briefly about the island they were staying at, Cleopatra Island, explaining it was located in the northeastern area of the Orange Islands. According to the attendant, Cleopatra Island was one of the first stops, and where most of the passengers would be getting of, as its known for its Paradise Resort. He also explained they would reach the island the next morning, so the gang had an entire day to explore the rest of the ship. Before they set out to explore the ship, they decided to head to their rooms first and leave their stuff.

"I can't believe we're actually on a cruise ship, May!" Dawn squealed, taking in the various pools and tanning beds available as they walked to their rooms.

"I know! If this is only the ship, I can't even begin to imagine the resort!" she answered.

The boys were walking a couple of steps behind Dawn and May, their faces showing a combination of amusement and awe at how worked up the girls were over the trip. Ash took advantage to catch up with Paul on the past couple of days they were gone while Brock walked alongside them.

"So Paul, what pokémon did you decide to bring with you?" Ash asked, thinking about how this could be a great time to bond with some of the newer pokémon from his team.

"Well obviously Salamence, Electivire, Umbreon, and Honchkrow. What about you?"

"I thought it would be a good time for some of the pokémon I trained last to take a vacation so I brought along Leafeon, Dragonair, Arcanine and Pikachu of course." He finished as Pikachu held up a "v" with his paw.

"Do you think they'll have a transfer machine in case we need to switch?"

"I'm pretty sure they do. I read up on the island a bit on the way here and it has its very own Pokemon Center." Brock answered.

"Good. I know we're supposed to be on vacation, but its gonna be pretty hard to stop training for a whole five days." Ash said, as Paul nodded in agreement.

As the boys were talking about a couple battle strategies they were developing during their training, Dawn and May were talking about their own battles and how they planned to overcome them during the trip.

"… And then I woke up and I was literally on his chest, inches from his face." May finished, shocking Dawn who tried to cover it up before Ash could see her.

"No way! Did he say anything?"

"Well after that there was this whole argument that kind of ruined most of the morning, but I'll fill you in tonight when we're alone. You, on the other hand, have to spill the beans about you and Paul. What happened these past days?"

A small blush started to form over Dawn's face as she turned away, attempting to hide it. "Well first we went to my house to get my stuff…"

The group finally reached their rooms, which were luckily right next to each other. Mrs. Ketchum knew there would only be five travellers but decided to book two rooms with three beds each just in case anything happened. Because the rooms were identical, they all decided to walk into one room to leave their stuff. Ash grabbed the room key and opened the door to their room. As soon as they walked in, they saw a large living room with a large white sofa which could open into a bed if the owner chose, a flat screen television hung on the wall facing the sofa and a small balcony looking out to the ocean. Further into the room to the right, was a large room with two queen-sized beds, another large television hanging from the wall, and a window that also looked out to the sea.

"I guess the third bed is actually the sofa." Brock pointed out. "I'll volunteer to sleep on it tonight guys," he added.

"No that's okay Brock. You do enough for us. Me and Pikachu will take the sofa, we've been practicing for this the last two nights." He added, looking towards May who shook her head and playfully shoved him.

They stepped out of the bedroom and entered the bathroom across the small hall, surprised to find such a large bathroom. There was a large mirror over the bathroom sink, and a large tub across from it. After they finished exploring the rooms, they all decided to change and place their swim suits under their clothes, as they more than likely would end up in the pool at some point in the day and this saved them the hassle of coming back to the rooms. With only one bathroom per room, the girls went into their own room to speed up the process. With May changing in the bathroom, Dawn began to think of everything May told her about what happened with Ash. She thought it would be a good idea to give May the push she needed to acknowledge her feelings for Ash but thought to do it subtly, afraid the brunette would close herself off if Dawn used the wrong words. After May finished in the bathroom, Dawn figured she would have to wait for the right moments.

* * *

Once they were all changed and ready to go, they walked back to the main deck of the ship where the pools were located. Although there was a large group of people on the ship, the deck was not as full as they expected. Brock spotted a pool completely unoccupied and called the rest of the gang over. After they took off the clothes over their bathing suits, they each jumped into the pool, taking a refreshing break from the heat of the sun. Ash decided it was best not to call out any of his pokémon besides Pikachu, as they were either too big or weak against water. Paul did the same while May brought out her Wartortle and Dawn her Piplup; Brock let the gang know he left his pokémon back home in the gym. They resulted to playing a game of tag that was over quickly after Pikachu was "it" and struggled to tag anyone with his short little arms and the resistance of the water. He responded to his irritation by sending a small current through the water that cleared the pool. Once outside, he was easily able to tag Ash who was recovering from the shock.

"Well looks like that was a bad idea," Ash said to the group as they all let out a laugh. It was surprising to Ash to see Paul smiling and laughing with everyone. He was usually reserved and quiet but he seemed to be in a good mood and enjoying himself. Whatever it was that had him like that, Ash was simply glad to see him having a good time.

"Guys there's an ice cream stand right over there," Dawn pointed out to the group. "We should go get some." She suggested as they made their way there.

They took turns asking the server for what they wanted and subsequently paying for their cones until May went up and realized she had forgotten her money in their room.

"Shoot! I left my money back in my other pants," she said with a frown. Dawn realizing this was as good a chance as any, nudged Ash, pointing in the direction of the brunette without her noticing.

"Offer to pay for her cone, Ash." She whispered from behind him.

"Huh… oh yeah! May I'll pay for it, don't worry." He quickly added, while Dawn face-palmed. _Maybe he hasn't matured_ _ **that**_ _much_ , she thought to herself before stifling a laugh.

"Would you really Ash? You don't have to. I can go back to the room and be back in no time." May suggested.

"Sure May, its no big deal. I owe you one from this morning anyway." He answered back, slightly blushing at the thought of waking up and finding May laying on him.

"Well thanks Ash," she answered, also blushing slightly before doing something completely unexpected to the rest of the gang. She decided to act solely on what her instincts were telling her and walked up to him before getting on her tiptoes and placing a small short kiss on his cheek. The rest of the gang smirked and pretended not to notice while May walked back to join them. Ash however stood frozen in place, instinctively placing a hand on the cheek May kissed, unable to react.

"Pikapi," the pokémon on his shoulder told him.

However, he got no response from his trainer.

"Pika!" he tried again, this time nudging him in the shoulder as well.

Still no response.

"PIKA!" he finally yelled, smacking Ash across the other cheek with his little paw, finally getting a reaction.

"Huh… what. Yeah ketchup flavored ice cream, please." He told the man at the ice cream stand, completely dazed from what happened. The man working the ice cream simply nodded, before finally serving Pikachu his cone. _Why did May just kiss me? More importantly, why did I just freeze up like this? Its like that night we were hugging. I feel a warm feeling inside me that I just can't even explain._ Ash began to walk over to the group after receiving his cone. _I wish someone would just tell me what it is I'm feeling. I need to talk to Gary pronto._

"Earth to Ash!" Dawn was snapping her fingers in front of his face, as the boy was gazing into space again. "We're getting pretty hungry so we're all gonna go get a bite to eat. You coming?"

Finally seeming to break from the trance he was in, Ash perked up at the thought of food. "Lead the way! I'm starving."

Dawn simply shook her head and started walking in the direction of the buffet. _Some things just never change, huh?_

* * *

After about five plates of food, two ice cream sundaes, and three milkshakes, May and Ash were satisfyingly full, with the normal human beings having finished about four plates ago. Pikachu was enjoying the remainder of a ketchup bottle, while Paul, Dawn, and Brock simply watched in amazement at the pair of best friends gobble down plate after plate of food, seemingly feeling just as hungry as after the plate before. Once they left the buffet, the realized the sun was setting and decided to go back to their rooms. With the exception of Brock, none of them had a good nights sleep, especially Paul and Dawn who spent most of the night flying back to Pallet Town. Before they made it back to their rooms, they spotted some video callers and decided to use them to contact their families, letting them know they were on the ferry. By the time they arrived to their rooms, Dawn let out a long yawn, who was followed by Paul, and then Ash, and then May.

"You guys should get some sleep. We need to be up early tomorrow to make sure we get off on the right island." Brock suggested to his younger friends.

"Yeah I think that's a good idea, goodnight boys. We'll see you guys bright and early tomorrow." Dawn said while smiling at Paul, who simply nodded and turned into the room trying to hide the blush forming on his face.

"Goodnight you guys." Brock followed Paul into their room. Dawn saw this as another opportunity and quickly winked at Ash before running inside her room, leaving him alone with May.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep on you last night Ash," May said, rubbing her arm as she stared down at the floor, unable to meet his eyes.

"It's okay May. I actually think we slept pretty good, right Pikachu?" He said, looking over at his partner.

"Chuu. (Speak for yourself)," he responded, earning a laugh from his two friends before heading into the room as well.

"Well, we should probably get to sleep now," she spoke up, feeling an awkward silence grow between them.

"Why did you kiss me?" Ash blurted out. "I mean… why did, uh… yeah why did you kiss me?" He tried to explain in other terms before failing miserably. _Nice going genius_.

"I don't know," May started before turning away. "I just kind of did what my instincts told me to do. It was just a friendly kiss as a thank you. I'm sorry about that too."

"Well in that case…" Ash started before he walked closer to May, inches away from her face. "Thank you for being such a great friend," he said as he returned the gesture from earlier, planting a short but sweet kiss on May's cheek.

Unfortunately, May's reaction was different to the one Ash had earlier. May's face instantly turned red as she quickly turned around and opened the door to her room. Before heading in, she turned around and faced Ash, unable to look him in the eyes. "Goodnight, see you tomorrow!" she quickly said, before rushing inside and shutting the door.

"Yep… definitely need to talk to Gary soon," he told himself as he stepped into his own room, closing the door behind him.

* * *

May could feel the blood rushing completely to her head. _Why did I do that. I literally just ran off without saying anything,_ she thought to herself, as she paced back in forth in the living room. _He probably thinks I hated it. Or that I'm upset he did that. I have to go talk to him. No, he's probably getting ready for bed now. What would I even say? 'Hey, sorry for being such a creep?' No, I can't do that. Ugh, I need to get my act together. I can't believe that just happened._ _Wait… he said 'thanks for being such a good_ _ **friend**_ _.'_ _What if that's all he thinks of me? What if he thinks that's what all friends do. Oh my goodness, what if he does the same with Dawn… or worse… Brock!? Gah! I'm over thinking this too much._ She checked her room to find the lights off and Dawn already under her sheets, the only visible light being a lamp by May's bed. She slumped against one of the walls, falling all the way to the ground and touching her cheek with her hand and letting out a deep sigh. _Ash Ketchum… I didn't know you had it in you,_ she thought to herself as she let out a small chuckle. _If there was any doubt before, I don't think there's any now…_ "I love you Ash…"

* * *

On the other side of the wall Ash was mimicking the position May was in, slumped along the wall, sitting on the floor. _I swear, I am terrible at this thing. In the span of just two days, I've managed to make May cry several times, get yelled at by her, have her get upset with me, and now I've managed to mess up a simple kiss on the cheek._ He checked on the sleeping Pikachu curled up on one of the bed sides wearing his little lavender night gown and sleeping blindfold the size of a tiny sock. _Thanks for the help,_ he sarcastically thought with a small smile. _But I bet if Glaceon was out there with us, you'd be all for staying up a little later, huh?_ He knew, however, that he should not really be upset at his pokémon; this was a challenge he would eventually have to face without his partners. _Well, hopefully I can apologize to her tomorrow morning and we can forget this whole thing ever happened. Ugh, I could actually use some love advice from Brock right about now,_ he thought, before quickly shaking his head. _I know its bad if I'm getting that desperate,_ he finished with a chuckle, before climbing into bed.

"Goodnight Pikachu."

* * *

Ash found himself struggling against the currents of the water. He could feel that his body wanted to move in a certain direction, but he was physically unable to, as if something was pulling on him, slowly drowning him. He felt himself be submerged underwater, the burning sensation of his lungs wanting to grasp for air beginning. He slowly was dragged deeper and deeper into the ocean, wondering how much longer his lungs could go on before they forced him to breathe in the water around him. He turned to look upward, only to see the bright sky darken with clouds, before a downpour of rain began. Although he was dragged lower into the depths of the sea, he was well aware of what was happening on the surface; he saw bolts of lightning, and walls of fire collide. Before long, the rain turned to hail and the surface above was under a severe snow storm. Above it all, Ash could see a fiery meteor in the sky approaching, seemingly getting bigger and bigger as it reached closer to the ground.

"Ash! Ash where are you!"

He could hear someone calling for his name. The farther down he was dragged, the fainter the voice became. He recognized it instantly, but the burning sensation in his lungs did not allow him to say her name. _May_ , he thought. _May its you. I'm right here, I can't get back up. If this is the end, just know that I love you. I'm sorry it took so long to realize it but I know now how much you mean to me…_

His descent into the depths of the sea began to slow down as he seemed to be approaching the end. The light of the surface was so faint, he was staring into pitch black darkness. However, the moment he stopped being pulled down, the burning sensation from his lungs was gone. He no longer felt like he was drowning, he felt relief pass through his chest, allowing him to open his eyes once more. Much to his surprise, he could see two large eyes facing at him… two familiar eyes. He tried hard to remember where he had seen those eyes before the creature in front of him spoke.

" _Ash… Ash… you must wake up Ash…"_

* * *

"Ash… Ash, we need to go. Ash wake up we need to get off the ship soon. We're almost there."

The raven-haired trainer slowly opened his eyes, taking in the sunlight of the bright morning sun. After a few moments of adjustment, he was finally able to see the figure in front of him, waking him up.

"Paul… Paul what time is it?"

"It's 8:30 Ash. The ship docks at 9 on Cleopatra Island, we need to get ready to leave." He answered.

Ash quickly got out of bed, stretching his muscles. The moment he did however, he felt the soreness of his entire body strike him. "I feel like I was just hit by a thousand Tauros." He said aloud. Slowly moving towards the bathroom to get ready, he saw Brock watching television, already dressed and ready to go, with Pikachu laying down next to him.

"Pikapi!" the faithful mouse shouted, running towards his trainer and jumping on his shoulder.

"Ouch buddy, I feel a little sore so try and be careful," he told him.

"Pi…" the pokémon answered, feeling bad for unwillingly hurting him.

"It's okay Pikachu, I'll be fine." He assured him, letting out a small smile.

"You seemed to be having a nightmare the way you were struggling in bed, Ash. I tried to wake you up but nothing seemed to work."

"Yeah I still feel exhausted, Brock, even though I feel like I slept enough."

"Well, hopefully the shower will help wake you up. We're meeting May and Dawn in a couple minutes to get going."

Ash hoped in the shower and quickly finished getting ready. Once he was done, the guys headed outside their room to wait for May and Dawn. After a couple of minutes, they both walked out, looking as jolly and rested as ever. After exchanging their hellos and good mornings, they made their way to the bottom floor to exit the ship. May wondered if there was something wrong with Ash, as he seemed to be limping around instead of walking. She made a note to ask him about it once they had some time to talk. She was still thinking about what happened the night before and how she wanted to talk to him about it. Ash on the other hand was too busy thinking about the weird dream he had and what it could mean. _It felt so real, though. My body feels as though it was fighting through the water the entire night just like in my dream. I wonder what it even means._

As they made their way out the ship, thanking the crew for their assistance and service, the gang began to feel the excitement of reaching their destination. They walked out of the ship into the sunlight together and took in the beautiful scene in front of them. The docks led to a beautiful beach, bordered by a beautiful clear cyan-colored ocean. The sand was white and clean and the temperature was perfect for a day at the beach. As they reached the end of the boardwalk, they could clearly see, towards the far right, a giant building, which they assumed was their resort. They could not see much of it from where they were but they knew it was big from where they were. They could only imagine how big it was up close. Once they reached the end of the walk, they decided to take a group picture, with the beautiful city of Cleopatra Island standing behind them. By this point the excitement was overwhelming Ash to the point that he was no longer thinking of his dream but rather the exciting time ahead of them. And then he heard her…

"Ash?"

He, along with everyone else, turned around to face whomever called for Ash, when he immediately realized whom it was.

"Melody?"

* * *

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, cause I very much enjoyed writing it!**

 **Our favorite Orange Island girl is back! But why? and for what?**

 **You guys know the deal, read and review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **-HRS**


	5. Seashells

**Once again thank you for views, reviews, followings, all the good stuff.**

 **I hope you enjoy this next chapter, it'll answer some questions while also ask other important ones.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

"Ash?"

They turned around to face the voice calling for Ash as they were leaving towards the resort and found a beautiful young lady, roughly around the age of the trainers. She had straight dark brown hair that stopped around her mid back with ocean blue eyes. The girl was slightly taller than when Ash first encountered her with Tracey and Misty. It was apparent she had blossomed into a beautiful young lady with attractive physical features, contrary to the young girl Ash met through his first Orange Islands journey. She wore a light pink blouse and a white skirt that stopped a couple inches before her knees. Ash was taken aback to find his old friend after all this time, while the others were slightly confused, wondering who this stranger, that clearly knew Ash, was.

"Melody?"

As the gang stood frozen in place, watching intently for any type of reaction from either two, the girl quickly ran towards Ash, leaping at him and hugging him, causing him to slightly stumble backwards; Pikachu instinctively hopped off of his trainer's shoulder, expecting the impact. Ash's face quickly flushed before reacting and returning the embrace, while May could feel a sudden unexplainable ting of pain in her chest. Dawn, Paul, and Brock silently waited for the two to finish greeting before introducing themselves.

"Ash, its so good to see you. It's been way too long!" the newcomer exclaimed, releasing Ash from the brief hug.

"Yeah Melody, its great to see you too. The last time I was here, I was finishing up the Orange League. It feels like just yesterday though," Ash, who was still slightly surprised to see her, chuckled.

"Well what brings you back here? I doubt you're competing in the league again."

"Believe it or not we're actually here on vacation." Ash started, suddenly realizing his other friends idly standing by waiting for their introduction. "Melody, these are some of my friends. Meet Brock, May, Dawn, and Paul," he signaled towards each of his friends. "Everyone, this is Melody. She's an old friend of mine that I met when Tracey, Misty and I were traveling through the Orange Islands." Pikachu quickly leapt back on his trainer's shoulder before smiling towards the girl he met years ago. "And I'm sure you remember my Pikachu, too." He finished, smiling and rubbing the pokémon's ear.

"Nice to meet you Melody," Brock walked towards the girl before extending his hand. "My name's Brock."

"I'm Dawn, its good to meet you," the blunette spoke next, smiling at the newcomer.

"Paul," the purple headed boy simply nodded.

They each turned to look at May, waiting for her to speak. Dawn, who was standing next to the brunette, nudged her, hoping to get her attention. She finally realized the crowd was staring at her and extended her hand, a small smile on her face.

"I'm May. Pleasure to meet you," she finally said, shaking Melody's hand.

"Well, knowing Ash's taste in friends, the pleasure is actually all mine," she greeted the crowd before winking towards Ash. May caught sight of this and her smile quickly faded. "I assume you guys are heading to the Paradise Resort then, right? That's usually where tourists are heading when they're here on vacation."

"Yeah, but what are you doing here Mel? Aren't you all still living on Shamouti Island?"

 _Mel? So, he has nicknames for her?_ May thought to herself. She could feel negative emotions beginning to creep through the back of her mind but dismissed them immediately, joining the group as they began heading towards the resort. _I need to relax. She's probably just a good friend, like any of his other ones._

"We are, I was actually on my way back to my boat to head home. I'm working near the beach at a surf shack." Melody answered. May was a little relieved to know she would not have to worry about the new girl who seemed pretty close to Ash for much longer. She was having a hard time figuring out her own feelings for the boy and preferred not to have outside obstacles making it more difficult.

"Why don't you hang out with us for a bit then?" Dawn quickly interjected. "We were planning on going to the beach later today once we get our rooms."

"Yeah that's a great idea, Dawn. You can even stay the night in one of our rooms, right guys?" Ash added, while Brock, Dawn, and Paul nodded.

May suddenly nudged Dawn, glaring at her for the sudden desire to include the girl in their plans. Although May never outright declared any feelings for Ash, Dawn knew there was something more than friendship and figured May was unhappy with the girl's presence by the look in her eyes. She rubbed the back of her head and mouthed a sympathetic 'sorry' to her friend. May knew Dawn meant no harm, however. The blunette's knowingly jolly personality assured May that her friend's intentions were pure and solely a friendly gesture towards Melody. May nodded towards her friend and the two caught up with the rest of the group.

"Thanks for the hospitality guys, but I wouldn't want to impose myself on your trip or anything." Melody quickly tried to explain.

"Hey, the more the merrier, right May?" Ash answered back enthusiastically while turning to his friend, expecting her support to their decision.

"Uh y-yeah, ofcourse. You're welcome to stay with me and Dawn in our room, Melody." The brunette finally answered, mustering up a weak half-hearted smile. Melody nodded in thanks and they made their way towards the resort that was located at the end of the beach's boardwalk. As they walked, Ash and Melody told the story of how they met and the challenge they faced, taming the legendary birds with the help of the sea pokémon Lugia. Brock and Paul listened intently, while Dawn and May tensed up hearing about the narrow escapes Ash had that day. When Melody mentioned how Ash almost drowned rescuing the last orb, the atmosphere in the group was somber. _He's always putting himself in danger trying to save the day,_ May thought. _What is it gonna take for him to realize that he may not come out of it alive one day though. Who needs to die for him to realize it's not a game._ May could feel anger building up inside but did her best to control her emotions and not make a scene in front of her friends.

Dawn was in a similar state as May. Through their travels in Sinnoh, Ash was always willing to recklessly jump into the fire, so to speak, regardless of the possible outcomes. His heart sometimes put him in dangerous situations, and although he usually finished unscathed, she knew there was always a chance that would not be the case. Even if she only considered Ash a very close friend, her best friend even, it was still painful to worry about whether or not he would make it back to them after some of these suicide missions of his.

"Well, it honestly sounds just like Ash to put himself in harms way to be the hero," Brock started. "No matter how dangerous it may seem, you always find yourself in the thick of it."

"I never really thought about it, but I do tend to be involved in these crazy missions to help save the world." Ash answered, as he placed his hand on his chin, thinking about the countless times he put himself in harms way to help. Obviously the encounter in Shamouti Island stood out, but there were many other moments he remembered that fit under that category.

"Brock's right Ash. You can't be so reckless with your life like that," Paul added, much to the surprise of the rest of the group. "I need my semi-worthy rival to live a little longer." He finished, grinning at the boy. May and Dawn nodded, lightly punching the boy on the shoulder.

"We can't have our mentor dying on us before we become the greatest coordinators in the world, now can we Dawn," the brunette teased, feeling better that someone brought up what she was meaning to say for a while.

"Definitely not," the blunette agreed.

"Alright alright, I get it guys. Be more careful, got it." Ash gave in, holding his hands up in the air. He was beginning to realize how much his friends truly cared and worried about him during his journeys.

"Pi pika chu pi"

"What do you mean, you'd 'kill me if I died,' Pikachu. I'd already be dead." Ash asked, confused at the electric type's comment and causing the laughter of the rest of the group.

"That's definitely the Ash I remember. The one whose friends would be willing to do anything for." Melody added, causing the smile of the raven-haired boy.

* * *

Ash was glad they finally reached their destination, hoping they would be distracted enough to stop nagging him about his recklessness. The sight in front of them was enough to completely stop them in their tracks. Firstly, the resort was huge, not so much in height, but in its length. The building was about 20 stories high, but it stretched for about a couple hundred yards. The resort had a path leading to its main doors that seemed eternal. Along the way, there were multiple pools, each with their own specialty, from pool volleyball to waterslides. There was a large fountain shortly before reaching the entrance to the resort and towards one of the ends, the resort led straight into the beach with multiple tanning beds available for use. Once the group made their way to the entrance, they were relieved to feel the air conditioning of the lobby, reminding them how hot and humid the day was. Paul and Brock went up to the counter to get the two room keys, while the others sat down to wait in the lobby.

"I can't even believe we're here! This is gonna be the best vacation ever!" Dawn squealed, unable to hide the excitement she was feeling.

"Remind me to thank your mom tons for this Ash," May added. "And I hope you enjoy it too. It is **your** birthday gift after all."

"Oh right, how could I forget…" Melody silently said. "Happy birthday Ash!" She pulled the trainer in for another hug, much to the displeasure of May who was standing right next to him. When she finally let go, May realized what she heard earlier.

"You said, you 'forgot,' right? You already knew his birthday?" the brunette asked accusingly.

"U-uh, n-no of course not. I just found out now." Melody defended. "I don't know why I said that." She said, avoiding eye contact with her accuser. Before May could question further, Paul and Brock approached the group.

"Well, there's good news and bad news." Brock started.

"The bad news is that each room only has two beds but no retractable sofa." Paul continued.

"The good news, though, is that Mrs. Ketchum reserved three rooms for us. I guess she asked how many can sleep in a room and planned accordingly. Now we just need to determine how we'll be splitting the rooms," Brock told the group.

Suddenly, an idea clicked in Dawn's head and she tried her best to use her telepathic abilities (none of which she has) to grab Brock's attention. Surprisingly, he made eye contact with her long enough for her to motion with her head towards May and Ash before pointing to herself, as if to say 'follow my lead.'

"Well Paul and Brock can take one room since you two already have a room key." She started before walking over to the two. "I'll take one for Melody and myself to sleep in," she continued as she grabbed the two remaining key cards before handing one to Melody. "And May and Ash can just share the last room." She casually said as she handed the remaining card to a dumbfounded Ash. "You two just be good now," she finished with a teasing smirk on her face. She remembered the little comment May said as she and Paul were leaving to Sinnoh and figured she would kill two birds with one stone this way. She would help her friend get closer to Ash while also get revenge for that night. She turned to see May and could see her face fluster up in a combination of embarrassment and anger towards Dawn.

Brock realized what was happening and understood now the reason for Dawn's behavior just minutes before and decided he would go along with her plan in hopes of the same outcome. "Well I think its settled then. We should probably all go up to see our rooms." He said as Paul, Dawn, and Melody followed his lead towards the elevators. Ash and May were left speechless at the decision taken by their friends and needed Pikachu to gently shock them to catch up with their friends waiting for them at the elevator. As they were walking, May remembered something from earlier in the day.

"Ash are you okay? You've were walking with a limp for most of the day." She finally asked.

"Oh, yeah. I hadn't really thought about it much, but I woke up today pretty sore. I can't explain why cause all I remember is having this strange dream last night and waking up feeling like I was hit by a truck."

"Well I'm glad to see you're feeling better," she finished, looking at the boy smile in reaction to her concern over him. She smiled back before looking down again, remembering the other discussion she wanted to have with him. "About last night Ash, I'm sorry for leaving you in the hall like that…"

"It's okay May. I didn't react very well after you kissed me earlier in the day either. I understand so no need to apologize." He gave her a warm smile before grabbing her hand and running towards their friends. "Now lets catch up with the others. I'm ready to eat!" May smiled and blushed slightly, feeling his hand grab hers as they caught up with their friends.

Once they stepped into the elevator, they pressed on their floor and anxiously waited to step into their new room for the next five days. The elevator stopped on the 11th floor and they stepped out into a long hallway that led to three different large doors.

"This is it guys," Brock said as he swiped his card through the middle door. "Moment of truth."

He opened the door and the group made their way into what looked like a small apartment. The entrance hall, which had a small table with a mirror over it, led into a large living room filled with beautiful furniture. The floor and walls were pure white while the complementary furniture was all black. There was a large table near a pair of armchairs and a medium-sized sofa, all pointed towards a large flat screen television hung on the wall. The living room led to three separate sections, the balcony, the bedrooms, and the two bathrooms. The balcony, which was in between the two balconies of the adjacent rooms, gave a beautiful view of the beach, while each bedroom was identical to each other, with a large king size bed, a large closet, desk, small bedside tables and a large television in each one.

"The bed is huge!" Dawn exclaimed. "If we wanted we could all probably sleep in a single bed."

"I bet you wish you were sharing the room with Paul instead now, right?" May whispered in the blunette's ear, causing her to turn bright red in the face.

"Hush, before I start playing dirty," Dawn warned her.

"Bring it on." May teased, sticking her tongue out at her friend.

"Hey Dawn, you feeling okay. You're bright red." Ash pointed out, oblivious to the exchange between May and the young embarrassed girl.

"U-uh, y-yeah. Just excited, that's all," she sweat-dropped.

They made their way to the other side of the room towards the bathrooms. Each room had two bathrooms with one slightly larger than the other. The main bathroom came with a private Jacuzzi aside from the large shower area that was large enough to fit three people. The bathroom sink was beautifully decorated with flowers and colorful shells placed around a group of scented candles. The mirror above the sink gave the stunning bathroom its completed look. Dawn and May were drooling at the opportunity to get ready in such a roomy bathroom, while the boys quickly lost interest and headed to the living room. Melody stayed with the girls, awkwardly looking around the bathroom, juggling between staying there and following the guys out. Before she started to walk out, May decided this was a good time to get some answers to calm her suspicions.

"So, Melody, you and Ash seem pretty close," she asked the brunette. "You haven't left his side up until now." Dawn heard May's suspicious tone and dropped the soap she was smelling to turn and face the girl in question.

"I-I guess. I'm just glad to see him after such a long time. That's all." She countered, noticing the implication behind May's words. Dawn followed May's lead in an attempt to indirectly figure out Melody's true feelings for Ash.

"He sure has become attractive though, don't you think? That time he spent training sure has paid off." Dawn added, winking towards May.

"I mean… I guess. He has grown a lot since the last time I saw him. He's become quite the young man," she thought out loud, unconsciously smiling at the thought of Ash's maturation over the years. May and Dawn looked at each other, understanding what the other was thinking. Melody realized the other two girls grew silent and quickly tried to explain herself. "He's not my type, though," she tried to divert. "Whomever he does end up with though will surely be a lucky girl. He's a great guy." She finished, before walking out the bathroom to join the guys in the living room, leaving the two girls puzzled at her response.

"What do you think Dawn? I can't help but shake this feeling that something's off about what she's saying, like she's not being completely truthful."

"I don't know May, she seems like a really nice person to me. Maybe you're just jealous at how happy Ash was to see her." Dawn said, before receiving a small slap across the head.

"Not helping Dawn." She warned the blunette, who was rubbing the back of her head.

"No need to get aggressive, your highness. I thought you said you didn't love him, though, liar." Dawn teased.

"Hush, let's get back to the others."

* * *

After they relaxed for a while, they each went to change into their bathing suits in order to head to the beach while the sun was still out. Dawn grabbed her bag and, along with Melody, left to their own room to change and get ready. May and Ash did the same, still feeling slightly uncomfortable to be sharing a room together, not because they did not enjoy each other's presence, but rather because they felt embarrassed to be the only pair sharing a room with the opposite sex. They attempted to shake off the feeling in hopes of not having such a small inconvenience ruin their time at the resort.

"May do you have a preference between which room you want?"

"Mmm… Do you mind if I take the room with the view of the beach? I love staring at nice views"

"Of course not May. Whatever you want." He assured her with a smile.

"Thanks Ash." She blushed lightly at his comment. "If you ever want to you can come and watch the view with me," she added, dropping her gaze as she felt her blush grow stronger.

"S-sure, May. Maybe we can have like a sleepover where we stay up all night and watch the sun rise." He added, remembering he saw that in a movie he saw with his mom one night.

"That's a great idea Ash. I've always wanted to see a sunrise on a nice tropical island. I'm sure Pikachu wouldn't mind ei-"

"Pi," the mouse interrupted, shaking his head while waving his little finger in the air. "Pi pika chuu pika pi"

"What do you mean, 'I need my beauty sleep.'" Ash asked his companion. "Who are you trying to impress, buddy?"

The electric type sweat-dropped before nervously laughing and rubbing the back of his head. "Pi Pikachu."

"Yeah right, I bet it's a certain ice type that I know quite well, isn't it?" May added, teasing the nervous pokémon. As she finished, Pikachu tensed up and faked a yawn before hopping on the bed and pretending to fall asleep.

"I think you nailed it May," Ash said, as the two laughed and sat on the floor, leaning on the bedside facing the window. "You know, I'm sure glad you came May. I don't think it would've been the same without you here." Ash smiled as he stared out the window towards the beach before realizing what he just said. "I mean… I um… I would probably be in this room by myself." He tried to correct.

May caught the boy blushing and continued staring at the view in front of them, a growing smile creeping on her face. "I'm glad I came too, Ash. I mean, what kind of best friend would I be if I didn't," she playfully bumped him. Suddenly they heard a knock on the door and swiftly got on their feet. "I guess that means we're the last to get ready." May laughed before they ran into the bathroom to change and meet their friends.

May wore her light blue two-piece bikini under a pair of black shorts and a blue crop top that showed off her toned stomach. She left her bandana in her bag since she would eventually take it off anyway at the beach. Ash wore a pair of black swimming trunks with a white tank top and a pair of sandals. Pikachu took no time at all getting ready as he simply grabbed a small pair of sunglasses he requested from Ash's Blastoise before the trip. With each of them ready to leave, they walked towards the door where their friends were waiting.

"Well it's about time, you two. We thought you guys might have fallen asleep," Brock told the pair, a questioning look on his face.

"And I thought **I** took long getting ready," teased the blunette. "We better get going before the beach gets full."

"It's okay Dawn. The beach stretches out so far it hardly ever gets full. Plus, I'm gonna take you guys to a secret small piece that I usually use to surf on my time off." Melody chimed in, leading them out of the resort. They stepped out into the blazing sun and made their way towards the beach, following Melody, as she seemed to cut through certain areas of the resort and the boardwalk to arrive at their destination.

"You sure know this area pretty well Mel," Ash spoke up, breaking the silence of the group as they walked what seemed to them like hours. Ash was walking with Melody to his left and May to his right, while Dawn took the other side of the girl leading them, with Brock next to her and Paul at the end.

"When you work here for as long as I have you start to learn the in's and out's fairly quickly." She answered, smiling at the boy. "If you want I can give you a tour around the city sometime."

"That sounds great, Mel. Doesn't that sound like a good idea, guys?" He asked the rest of his friends, oblivious to the frown that formed on Melody's face. She was hoping Ash would understand that her invitation was strictly for him, but the small amount of time spent with the boy taught her the immensity of Ash's density. May, who smirked slightly, seeing Melody's invitation backfire, was glad Ash wanted to include his friends in all his plans. The rest of the gang nodded in agreement to Ash's idea, much to the displeasure or the brunette who offered the invitation.

Brock took a moment to pull Dawn back and question her about the suspicious behavior May was having towards their new friend. "So is this about what I think it is?" He asked as Dawn put on her best attempt at a fake confused face.

"I don't know what you mean Brock," she tried to lie.

"May has been acting really weird towards Melody. Is she jealous?"

"I-I u-uh don't k-know what you… Yes." She finally gave in. "But you can't say anything. She's still confused about how she's feeling and thinks Melody being here is only gonna make things harder."

"Yeah I see what you mean. There is something about those two that I can't seem to put my finger on," he explained, stealing glances between Melody and Ash. As Dawn started to walk ahead, Brock quickly stopped her. "Don't think I don't know about you and Paul either, Dawn. I may not be the best when it comes to my own love life, but I can definitely spot in from a mile away." He teased the girl, who shot up and raced towards her friends, using all her strength to hold back the blush she was holding off.

"Hey guys are we almost there?" she yelled as she reached the rest of her friends.

There was no response as the group in front of her stopped dead in their tracks, taken back by the scene in front of them. They entered a small portion of the beach that was blocked off from the rest of the island large trees on both ends of the medium-sized beach, only accessible by a small path that cut into the trees of the inner island before leading back towards the shore. The sand was pure white, while the ocean was a different shade of blue depending on where you looked. There was a calming silence, which was a result of how far away they were from the main beach.

"Welcome to my little strip of paradise!" Melody excitedly told the group. "Last one in the water pays for dinner." She finished before running off into the water, taking off her tank top and shorts along the way, revealing a black two-piece bathing suit.

"Hey wait up Mel, no fair!" Ash shouted after the girl, but while he did, the rest of the gang ran past him, heading straight for the water. May and Dawn followed the girls lead and removed their tops and shorts, revealing May's light blue two-piece and Dawn's red one of a similar style. The boys were lucky as they simply removed their shirts and jumped right in. Before Ash could react, the rest of his friends were already in the water laughing as they saw the look of utter disappointment on Ash's face. "Well it's a good thing, we saved up, huh buddy?" but as he looked over his shoulder he saw his trusty companion was absent and already on his way to the water.

"Pika chu pikapi!" he yelled over his shoulder.

"What do you mean, 'you spent your money on ketchup bottles'!" Ash yelled after his pokémon, before tossing his tank top aside and joining the rest of his friends.

"The water feels amazing. Talk about relaxation…" Brock finished as he submerged himself in the clear blue water.

"Yeah, I could definitely get used to th-" May tried to say before she was abruptly pulled underwater, flailing her arms.

"MAY!" Dawn yelled as she saw her friend taken right from under them. "Paul hurry up and go after her!" She ordered the trainer, who was nowhere to be found. "Ash where are you?" she looked around frantically. Brock was out of hearing distance while Melody had also disappeared. "Bro-" she tried to yell before felt something grab her leg and pull her underwater. She searched around frantically, unable to find the culprit before finally swimming to the surface again, gasping for air.

"I told you they wouldn't see it coming," Dawn heard a familiar voice say as she tried to shake off the disorientation. She turned to find May next to her, also gasping for air, anger present in her sapphire eyes as she looked at the culprits behind their underwater adventure.

"Sorry guys," Ash tried to say while bellowing out a laugh. "It was way too tempting and you should've seen the look on your faces underwater." He was greeted with a sudden wave to the face, knocking him underwater. Apparently, Paul and Ash silently swam undetected before dragging the girls underwater. Dawn was catching her breath when she realized someone was still missing. By this time, Brock had rejoined the party, chuckling at the two girls and their drenched hair, but Melody was still nowhere to be found.

"Hey, where was Melody during this little prank of yours, Paul?" She asked.

Paul simply shrugged his shoulders while looking around to find the girl.

"Right before we dragged you guys down, she told me she was going ashore for a minute." Ash answered. "Look she's on her way back now," he pointed towards the girl walking over to them from the beach.

"Did it work?" She asked as she swam back to the group, grin on her face.

"You bet it did," Ash shot back with a thumbs up. May and Dawn rolled their eyes realizing they were the only two out of the loop.

"So much for girls sticking together," Dawn complained, earning a sympathetic smile from Melody. Before the boys could saw anything else, Dawn and May quickly glanced at each other before nodding. "Well, you guys have left us with no choice." Dawn said cryptically. Right as she finished, all hell broke loose. The two coordinators used all the strength to throw large waves of water towards the rest of the group, resulting in retaliation from the boys and Melody. Before long, everyone, along with Pikachu, was drenched in water. Brock regretted swimming back to the group as he was caught in the midst of a large wave from Ash to May in an attempt to mediate the two groups.

* * *

After swimming a while longer, they walked back to their belongings to let out their pokémon, who also deserved to enjoy the beautiful day and water. Ash's Arcanine took a nap under a tree, while his Leafeon began building a sand castle with Pikachu, Glaceon, and Paul's Umbreon. Dragonair, flew into the water and swam with May's Wartortle, Dawn's Piplup and Melody's Dewgong. Dawn and May took this time to finally start their tanning, while the rest of the group sat near the water, watching their pokémon play.

"Your Dewgong looks really strong, Mel. When did you catch him?" Ash asked.

"Well, I actually got him when he was just a Seel from my sister. I've never really been into battling, but I do love the ocean so she thought he would be a good partner for me." She smiled, remembering their first days together.

"He looks to be in great shape Melody," Brock agreed with Paul simply nodding as he watched the water pokémon quickly speed up in a game of tag with the others.

The rest of the evening was filled with relaxation among the humans and playing among the pokémon. Melody joined the girls tanning, while the boys laid under a large palm tree that offered enough shade for the three. Ash was starting to feel the effects of the fatigue caused by the hot sun combined with the strain of swimming and began to drift into sleep. The sounds of the crashing waves hitting against the shore was soothing, while a gentle breeze cooled the trainer from the heat and humidity of the hot day. In his mind, there was no better way to relax than on a beach with his closest friends. Just as the boy was loosing consciousness of the world around him, he heard a faint voice call him in the distance.

" _Ash…"_

He heard the voice ringing in his head, identical to the voice from his dream and quickly jolted back up. On each side was Paul and Brock, also dozing off into sleep, while to the far left were the girls lying down on their towels, tanning. He looked over at his pokémon who were enjoying the soft sand and wondered why no one else heard the voice calling him. _Am I imagining it? I could've sworn I heard someone call my name. On top of that, it's the same voice from my dream._ Ash let out a sigh and tried to fall back asleep, this time succeeding with no outside interruptions.

As the sun was beginning to set, the gang decided it was finally time to walk back to the resort to grab some food and rest after their first successful day on Cleopatra Island. While everyone was grabbing their stuff, Ash spotted May sitting on her own, staring at the beautiful sunset in front of them. He approached her and sat next to her, taking in the rainbow of colors on the horizon as the sun was preparing to leave them for the remainder of the day. The two exchanged no words as they enjoyed each other's presence during such a romantic scene. May turned over to see Ash smiling, _where would I be right now without you Ash Ketchum… definitely not watching this beautiful sunset,_ she thought as she turned back towards the horizon.

"Its beautiful isn't it?" Ash asked.

"Yeah… Almost makes you wanna never see the moon."

"We should probably get going. I think everyone else is ready to go." Ash said as he plopped back up, extending a hand towards the sitting brunette. She gladly took it and was pulled back on her feet.

Behind them though, was Melody, who witnessed the exchange between the two and sighed deeply. She felt a sudden sadness overcome her and frowned thinking about the young boy in front of her. _How am I gonna tell you Ash…_

* * *

 **There you have it, chapter 5 complete. Melody will be an important role moving forward along with the rest of the group.**

 **I hope you enjoyed and leave a review if there's anything off with the story, whether it be characters, plot, grammar, etc...**

 **Thank you for your time, the next update will be up sometime next week.**

 **-HRS**


	6. Silver Stars

**Sorry this one took so long. I hit a bit of writers block combined with college starting again.**

 **Once again, thank you to those who take the time to read and follow this story.**

 **The plot finally starts getting good... mwahaha! No but really, hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Much to the horror of the young trainer and his pockets, when Melody thought of cursing the loser of their race with paying the bill for their evening dinner, his friends made sure the boy was true to his word. For once in his life, Ash was glad his stomach was cooperating with him as he kept his meal to the bare minimum. May however, was less forgiving as her usual healthy appetite kicked into full gear once she spotted the mountains of diverse food and sweets across the hall. The rest of the group followed the brunette's lead and served a variety of different items, filling their plates to the absolute top. Ash nervously followed his friends as he silently made calculations in his head.

"Don't you think that's a bit much May?" The worried trainer asked. The brunette was in the middle of serving a large portion of lasagna when May shot the boy a glare. He quickly held his hands up in defense. "I-I mean, serve away! Don't mind me I'm just blabbering away here…" He nervously laughed as May gleefully continued serving her food.

"Pikapi pi chu," the pokémon said, laughing at his trainer.

"Well I wouldn't be so worried if everyone ate like a decent human being." He sighed while watching the happy brunette skip around the hall placing different items on her plate. The rest of the group was already done and finding a table for them to sit on. Pikachu gave Ash an accusing look, reminding him where May's healthy appetite began. "I guess I shouldn't be one to talk though, huh."

They all gathered around a large rectangular table near the center of the dining hall and quietly ate their meals, making small conversation about what they planned to do on their next couple of days of vacation. Dawn and May instantly suggested shopping, much to the dismay of the boys. The girls figured they would escape at some point to check out some of the local shops around the island that Melody offered to show them. The brunette also offered to give them a small surfing lesson to start them off to which they gladly accepted and decided to take the next day.

"Melody why don't you stay with us the next couple of days. You obviously know more about the island than any of us and it could also be nice to take some time off from work." Ash suggested to the girl.

"Yeah Melody, it would be tons of fun." May added, much to the surprise of Dawn and Brock. _Maybe Dawn's right. I'm probably just overreacting about her and Ash. Plus, she's only been trying to help us ever since we met up with her._ May silently thought as she noticed the look on Dawn's face and simply nodded in understanding. "Plus, its always nice to have another girl around," she finished with a smile.

"I really do appreciate it guys." She smiled at the warm reception the group had with the newly met girl. "I'll just have to grab some more clothes tomorrow morning, but thankfully it's only an hour boat ride away from here."

Thankfully for Ash, everyone chipped in to help pay for the food, happy to see that their friend was actually willing to follow through on his word and pay for the meal. They made their way back to the resort, as the sun was completely gone, replaced by the full moon and twinkling stars filling the night sky. With the exhaustion of the hot sun and beach beginning to take its toll on their bodies, the gang decided to head to their rooms and sleep, awaiting the adventures of the following day.

Paul and Brock said their goodnights and retreated to their room, while Melody and Dawn did the same, the latter mischievously winking at May before disappearing. The brunette silently cursed her friend and followed Ash into their suite, releasing her Glaceon as she slipped into the bathroom to change into her pajamas and getting ready for bed. She was thankful she packed a modest pair of shorts and an oversized shirt rather than her usual pajama that most likely would be dubbed inappropriate, especially when sharing a room with a boy. As she stepped out of the bathroom she was taken aback to find Ash in her room, extending a blanket on the floor near the edge of her bed. He noticed the brunette standing silently and smirked.

"Don't tell me you already forgot about the invitation you made me earlier." Ash said, as he sat down facing the large slidding doors of the balcony and leaning against the edge of the bed. Glaceon was curled up next to a blushing Pikachu who held a small blush underneath his yellow fur. "I believe your exact words were, 'if you ever want to, you can come watch the view with me,'" He said in a feminine tone, hands clasped together and batting his eyelashes teasingly.

"Oh shut up, that's definitely not how I said it." She laughed and shoved him over to make space for her to sit down. "Of course I haven't forgotten, I just figured you were too tired after the long day."

"Well I am kind of tired, but I feel like we haven't been able to spend much time together and talk like we used to. I remember when we were traveling together with Brock and Max, we would always stay up late and just talk about anything while they were sleeping." Ash answered, a smile forming on his face as he reminisced about those old memories.

"I remember when we would stare up at the sky and try to form different pokémons with the stars," she added, also remembering the countless memories stored in her head from their time together.

"You remember the night we snuck out of our sleeping bags while on our way to Petalburg-"

"And went to the beach only to almost freeze to death from how cold the water was," the brunette finished, as they both began laughing hysterically.

"Yeah and being the gentleman that I am, I offered you my sweater and regretted it instantly."

"Its okay Ash, your mother would be proud," she teased, earning an annoyed look from the boy. "If it's any consolation, I was definitely warm." She added, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, remembering the sensation of Ash's sweater warming her cold body.

"Well I guess that does make me feel better. I felt really bad watching you shiver, especially since it was my idea to begin with." He answered as they both stared out the large glass doors of the balcony, the night filled with bright stars of all sizes.

A silence fell upon the two as they each ran through various images of different points in their journey. There was no denying that a significant amount of memories that told the story of their journey was shared with Brock and Max. However, there were also memories that were shared between the two friends that neither Max nor Brock knew about; the sneak out to the beach was an example but certainly not the only one. May was grateful that Ash decided to spend the night with her rather than simply going to sleep and smiled as she thought about the time they decided to climb up the branches of a tall tree near the camp to stare at the clear night sky. As she remembered the surprised look on their faces as a school of Butterfrees passed through the night shimmering under the moonlight, Ash spoke up, breaking her trance.

"Why did you leave May?"

May flinched as she could here the seriousness of his tone and turned to see him looking straight ahead, an emotionless look on his face. "What do you mean Ash?" She asked, watching as the boy stared into the starry night.

"After we finished the Battle Frontier, why did you leave?" He asked again, this time a touch of sadness could be heard in his words while still not taking his gaze away from the glass doors. May simply sat there, her mouth slack as she tried to force the words out of her. Noticing the hesitance in May's response, Ash simply continued.

"I know you wanted to follow your rivals into Johto, but Sinnoh had contests too, and you could've competed against Dawn and the other coordinators there." Ash stopped a moment to get his thoughts together before sighing. "I guess I'm just wondering if I did something wrong. I'd like to think I was a good friend to you and I know I probably wasn't as good at teaching you about pokémon contests as someone like Drew, but I really did try my best. I actually thought about it a lot after we split ways, wondering what I might have done wro-" He was suddenly interrupted as May threw her arms around him and pulled him into a strong hug.

"Please stop Ash." She was able to say after a moment, as she sniffled and placed her head on the boy's shoulder. Ash could feel the tears from May's cheeks start to dampen his shirt. "I don't ever want you to think you did anything wrong. I honestly don't even know why I left. A part of me just wanted to become more independent and see how I would fare on my own, without you guys constantly helping me, but the moment I began my journey, I felt an emptiness in my chest that lasted almost the entirety of my journey. The only time it seemed to completely go away was when I met up with you and the others in Sinnoh." May stopped as Ash pulled away from the embrace. She tried to drop her gaze but felt Ash's hand lift her chin up and wipe away the tears from his face, a sympathetic look on his face.

"There. Much better," he said with a smile. "Now you can continue."

May felt blood start to rush to her face but could not help but smile back at the comforting gesture. "I regret not going with you to Sinnoh Ash. But don't for a minute think that you did anything wrong to drive me away."

"I'm sorry May, I didn't mean to make you cry or feel bad." He said, feeling responsible for ruining the sweet moment they were having. He tilted his body to face outside again, but after May's embrace, the two were closer together than before.

"It's okay Ash. I should have spoken to you about it a long time ago. I didn't know it affected you as much." As she finished talking, she felt a sudden weight on her shoulder and was surprised to find that Ash's head was currently leaning on her shoulder.

"I hope you don't mind, since I did lend you mine last time," he teased her while resting his head on the brunette's shoulder, the fatigue starting to take over his body.

May simply chuckled and ruffled his hair with her hand. "Of course not, I just don't know if you're as comfortable as I was," she teased back.

"Oh, I'm plenty comfortable." He assured her, slowly closing his eyelids, smile ever-present on his face. May turned her head slightly to look at the sleeping boy and smiled back, allowing her head to rest on his head.

"Goodnight Ash."

* * *

The sound of droplets falling echoed throughout, as silence and darkness surrounded him. He was beginning to wake before a sudden ringing in his head caused him to wince in pain. The boy sat up slowly, trying to take in his surroundings but was greeted with pitch-black darkness. He knew he was near water, as he could smell the distinguishing salty smell of the ocean. He also knew he was drenched in water as a small breeze caused him to shiver; the cold rock he was sitting on was not helping the situation either. Suddenly, he felt a chill run down his spine, completely separate to the cold he felt from the temperature, as he watched four sets of eyes staring intently in his direction, anger and grief overwhelmingly present.

" _You! This is all because of you!"_ a set of eyes growled towards him, snapping his jaw as he approached the boy. Another pair of eyes quickly jumped in front, stopping the first from advancing.

" _Calm down… we'll be meeting with him soon enough."_

The boy tried to stand in order to run away from the menacing group of eyes but was unable to move as he felt his body pinned to the ground beneath him. The ringing that caused him to grimace returned and this time stronger than before. The boy tried to cover his ears from the noise but it was useless as the ringing continued penetrating the deepest areas of his brain. Just as he was about to succumb to the pain and pass out, he saw a large flame ignite in front of him, driving away the threat in front of him and stopping the noise. Before he gained full consciousness and discovered the origin of the fire, the boy was suddenly hit with a sharp pain on the side of his head and his surroundings went black once again.

Ash's eyes quickly shot open as he realized he was on the hard floor. He sat up, searching around in the darkness and finding May lying on the floor next to him, completely knocked out. The boy concluded that May must have leaned to far to the right and slowly fallen on the floor with Ash's head hitting the floor as a result of a lack of support, waking him up. _There has to be something behind these dreams. They're too frequent and too life-like,_ he thought.

He sighed deeply before getting up and stretching slightly. He turned to look at the brunette on the floor before smiling. _Poor thing,_ he chuckled quietly before reaching down and picking up the girl into his arms, surprised at the lack of effort needed to do so. _Well, either the training has worked out or May is simply not that heavy._ He gently carried her towards the edge of the bed and placed her under the covers as she instinctively got comfortable and fell back to sleep. Ash giggled at the sight, hoping not to wake her up before sitting down next the brunette and resting his head on the bed, only inches apart from the girl's face.

"Goodnight May," he mumbled softly before sleep overcame him, this time peacefully and unbothered by his nightmares.

* * *

May mentally cursed herself. _I knew we should have closed the curtains before falling asleep_ , she thought _._ The bright sun was completely unblocked and filling the room with light that landed directly over the girl's face as she tried to hide under the covers but to no avail. Deep down she knew that the time for her to wake up was approaching and no matter how comfortable she felt, her fear of being left behind by her friends was stronger. _Five more minutes_ , she argued with herself. _I haven't slept this well in a long time. I don't know if its because of last night or this amazingly soft bed… Wait a minute…_ She came into the realization. _Why am I on the bed? Last time I check, Ash and I fell asleep on the floor._ She quickly pulled the covers off from her face and instantly smiled at the sight in front of her.

Ash was peacefully asleep in front of her, face resting on the bed with a slightly opened mouth and drool obviously present. May giggled to herself before instinctively running her hand through his hair a couple of times. _I wonder if he moved me to the bed last night_ ,she wondered. _Obviously, May. Its not as if I would've moved myself,_ she laughed and mentally face-palmed. She continued to pass her hand through the boy's hair before stopping, realizing what she was doing. _Such messy hair… I kind of like it though, makes him look all rebellious,_ she thought, giggling to herself.

"Well, time to wake up sleepy head," she told him as she stopped stroking his hair and simply nudged him slightly.

"Mm… five more minutes beautiful," Ash unconsciously answered, much to the surprise of May who started blushing.

"Fine, but I'm gonna start getting ready. You should too sleepy head."

With that, May slowly and carefully escaped from the tempting bed, hoping not to wake up Ash in the process. Suddenly the brunette realized that a certain two pokémon were uncharacteristically not sleeping since they were nowhere to be found. She took some of her things from her bag and walked in to the living room to find the two curled up on the couch watching TV.

"There you guys are, good morning you two," she happily greeted her friends.

"Pika!" the electric mouse yelled out before hopping onto May's shoulder and rubbing against her cheek causing her to giggle at the pokémon's ticklish fur. Glaceon also walked over to her trainer and rubbed herself against the girl's leg.

"I'm glad to see you too. I hope you guys slept as well as I did, although I'm sure you did seeing as how close you were," she gave them a playful wink. Pikachu nervously laughed while the ice type blushed slightly. "Let's go get ready Glaceon. Today should be fun." She happily picked the pokémon up before walking away. "Pikachu can you try and wake up Ash for me, please?"

"Pikapi pika," The electric type grinned as small sparks appeared on his cheeks.

"Nicely please," May giggled.

"Chuu…" he responded, clearly disappointed.

May left and headed into the bathroom, hopping into the shower to start getting ready. The girl woke up especially cheery today and was excited for the day ahead of them. Unable to find a clear explanation for her sudden gleeful mood, she attributed it to a good night's sleep and after a couple of minutes, she finished her shower and started getting dressed before turning her attention to her hair. She took a quick glance at her Pokenav and saw the time.

"It's already 10:45 Glaceon. I didn't even realize it was that late."

"Glace glaceon," she answered suggestively.

"Oh please, Glaceon," she started, blushing slightly at her pokémon's comment. "Nothing happened. We just talked for a bit before we fell asleep, so don't give me that look," she unsuccessfully tried to convince her. However, May could not help but smile, thinking about how much she enjoyed the time they spent together. She was almost disappointed that they would have to meet with their other friends as she hoped to spend more time alone with Ash. She was starting to mentally thank Dawn for arranging them to stay in the same room together.

"Glaceon?" the ice type asked.

"I don't even know. I'm still confused myself, so when I find out I'll make sure you're the first to know," she playfully answered. "But lets hurry. We're supposed to meet the others around 11."

* * *

As Ash was in the shower, trying to hurry up as May knocked on his door every so often to rush the boy, reminding him that they were running late for the umpteenth time, he found himself thinking about his recent dreams, or rather nightmares.

"I just can't explain it Pikachu. One moment I'm there and the next I'm awake and back here."

"Pi pika chu pi?"

"No I don't have a clue about who or what they were. They were definitely upset, though, that much I know."

"Pi pikapi chu," he suggested.

"I just don't want May to worry. I know if I tell her she's gonna be thinking about it the whole time. I just want her to have a good time. Just like the others."

"Chu pikapi," he added suggestively. Ash knew the implications of what his pokémon was saying and tried hard not to blush.

"I don't even know how to explain it buddy. But I'll be sure to tell you first when I figure it out," he assured him.

"Pika chu pika?"

"Its weird. I feel like I have this connection with Mel that I can't really explain, but it's different to what I've been feeling with May. It's just hard to explain."

"Chu pi"

"Sheesh, when did you become so interested in my love life, Doctor Pikachu. I appreciate your diagnosis doctor, but I need to figure this out on my own unfortunately."

The electric type simply huffed and sparked his cheeks threateningly at his teasing trainer as he waited for him to finish with his shower.

* * *

"Finally!" May let out, watching as Ash and Pikachu stepped into the living room, ready to leave. "You are no longer allowed to complain about how long I take getting ready. You're also going to bed earlier tonight so you get better sleep."

"Gee, thanks mom," he answered sarcastically.

"Well we know you'd be lost without me, so I'll take that as a thank you," she playfully answered. "Now let's get going, everyone's waiting for us.

They gathered their personal things and walked out the door and towards their friends who were waiting for them at the dining hall, Pikachu and Glaceon leading the way. In the rush of things, Ash simply put on a basic black tank top and celeste colored swimming trunks, his ever-present hat flipped backwards however. May was wearing a simple white crop top with a pair of black shorts, her hair tied up into a single ponytail. Ash took a moment to look at the brunette and admired her ability to make the simplest of looks work perfectly in her favor.

The four arrived at the hall and easily found their friends sitting down, getting ready to serve their food. The dining hall was relatively empty as most of the tourists left earlier in the day to enjoy as much of the day as possible. As the four reached the table, Dawn sarcastically clapped for them, being joined by the remaining three.

"Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to join us," Dawn teased them. "That's twice you guys have been late already. Maybe having you two share a room was a bad idea, eh Brock?" Both Ash and May's faces lit up in a bright red as they suddenly grabbed their plates and headed towards the food.

"Yeah I wonder what those two are doing in there," Brock teased the two as well before they all grabbed their breakfast.

After they were satisfied with their plates, they each sat down and began eating. Pikachu was taking pieces of one of Ash's muffin while Glaceon ate a couple strips of bacon that May served her.

"So Melody, were you able to get your things this morning?" May asked.

"Yeah, I left early this morning and got back just in time to wake up Dawn before she overslept." She answered, smiling at the embarrassed blunette.

"Oh she tends to sleep in often," Paul gave the girl an accusing glare, remembering the day they were almost left by the ferry.

"You're one to talk," Dawn fired back. "Don't make me bring up the day we first flew to Kanto."

"Yes ma'am," he answered, dejectedly, causing the laughter of everyone at the table.

"Don't worry Paul, I have plenty of embarrassing stories of Dawn that you can use against her," Ash grinned. "We gotta stick together, right." He added before fist bumping across the table with the other boy. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head as May hit him.

"You will do no such thing," May warned, shooting him a menacing look.

"Yes ma'am," he quickly agreed as everyone burst into laughter at the exchange between the two.

"Oh Ash, you'll never learn. Us girls will always be having the last say," Melody added.

* * *

Once everyone finished eating, the group cleared the table and walked out of the resort and towards Melody's surf shop. In order to learn to surf, they obviously needed equipment, and the owner was kind enough to allow the group to rent a couple surfboards for the day. After the small detour, they travelled towards the same private beach area from the day before. They reached the beach in no time and quickly changed into their bathing gear, jumping into the water.

Melody briefly explained the basics to surfing, stating the importance of keeping balance and taking deep breathes to steady them selves. She demonstrated how to lie on the board while waiting for a wave and the proper way and moment in which you should stand. Once a large enough wave would approach them, Melody would give an example of the proper technique. After a couple of epic failures by Brock and Paul, the two resorted to watching their friends. Ash was starting to get the hang of it while May and Dawn were still struggling to stand up. Melody tried to dedicate a moment with the three still trying in order to help fix their mistakes.

"Ash you seem to be a natural for this, why does it not surprise me." Melody complimented him as he successfully finished surfing through a medium sized wave with Pikachu posing at the end of his board.

"Thanks Mel, I have a great teacher," he winked at her. "I'm gonna' try and help May out though, maybe you can help Dawn out." He signaled at the blunette but found that Paul was helping her back on her board. "Never mind then," they laughed.

After a couple of falls, Dawn started to get the hang of it and even invited Paul to sit with her which, unsurprisingly, he declined, still much too proud to admit needing help in anything. Melody was enjoying the waves as her job was basically done, occasionally stealing glances towards Ash who was still helping May get the hang of it.

"Just make sure to keep your balance during the initial lift May, that's the hardest part right there." He assured her, holding her hand as she slowly stood on her board. Just as a large wave was approaching, she lost her balance and fell over, before Ash quickly caught her.

"I don't think this is my thing Ash," she said as the two laughed. "Why don't you go enjoy yourself though, I'll just swim around with Brock and Paul."

"You sure May? I don't mind helping you out."

"I know you don't," she smiled at him. "Go on though." He nodded back, smiling.

Ash swam on his board towards Melody who was slightly deeper into the ocean where larger waves were starting to hit. May watched as the two surfed through a couple waves, high fiving after succeeding and laughing when one of the two would fall off. Her mood started to fall slightly as she saw how much fun they were having with each other. She tried to distract herself from the negative thoughts she was having and swam towards Brock who was relaxing under the warm sun.

"You okay May? You seem a little down." The older friend asked her.

"Yeah Brock, I'm fine." She answered, smiling half-heartedly.

"I think I've known you long enough to know when something's wrong May," he told her. "Its Melody isn't it?"

"Is it that obvious?" she sadly asked. "I'm glad that they're such close friends, but I just can't help but feel that there's something more than that."

"Yeah I get the same feeling. Why don't you just ask Ash about it?"

"I think if I do it might come off a little weird, don't you think?" May asked. She knew that it would be quite suspicious of her to be interested in whether or not Ash likes a particular person or not.

"You're probably right. Well if you want, I can ask him then." Brock offered.

"Really Brock? That would be great, I'd really appreciate that. At least until I figure out my own feeling, I want to know what he might be feeling too."

"Sure May. What are friends for," he assured her with a smile. "I'll ask him later today when we're alon-" suddenly the pair was interrupted by a loud yell behind them.

"ASH! MELODY!"

Before the two could realize what was happening they turned to see where the scream came from and found a frantic Dawn and Paul swimming deeper into the ocean, May and Brock following after them.

"Dawn… what's… going on?" May tried to yell after her while swimming as fast as she could.

"It's Ash and Melody!" Dawn yelled back as May and Brock finally caught up the their friends. "They were surfing a large wave and were both knocked out of the water and into the air. They hit the water hard and haven't come up to the surface." She told the two, fear and worry present in her voice.

"Paul let's dive in a see if we can find any sign of them," Brock quickly suggested before Paul nodded and they disappeared into the water. May was still in shock, praying and hoping that the two boys would find their friends.

"Please let them be okay. Pikachu was with Ash too," Dawn added. "We can't just stay here and do nothing May. Let's help find them too." She turned to find her friend frozen in place, barely kicking her feet to stay above the water, her eyes clearly watery. "Hello, Earth to May. Are you listening to me?" the blunette snapped her fingers in front of her friend.

"Y-yeah Dawn, let's go," she finally said before the two dove into the water.

After what seemed like a century, the four friends surfaced from the water, the growing worry present in their faces. May and Dawn were on the verge of tears while Paul and Brock tried to comfort them.

"We'll find them May." Brock said to the brunette while Dawn was starting to tremble in Paul's arms.

"Look! Over there," Paul pointed over. A couple of feet away someone surfaced up, gasping for air. The four of them quickly swam over and recognized the person as Melody who was slowly losing consciousness and beginning to fall back into the water before Brock quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her up.

"Paul help me bring her to shore." Brock asked as Paul grabbed her other arm while holding one of Dawn's as well. May was hesitant to leave the water knowing that Ash could probably surface at any point too but knew that Melody was in need of help.

They arrived on the shore and laid Melody on the ground. Dawn reached over to listen to a heartbeat but grew pale when she could not hear one. She quickly began to give the girl CPR with the other three friends watching nervously. Dawn tried pushing harder down on the brunette's chest with every stroke and blowing in as much air as she could but could feel her energy being depleted. Right as she was about to give up, Melody choked out water trapped in her lungs and gasped for air as she began to shake uncontrollably, coming to her senses after what happened.

"It's okay Mel, we're right here," Dawn hugged the girl trying to assure her. "You're okay, we're right here."

May tried to give the girl a moment to recuperate but could not help but think of Ash and the danger he might be in as well. If Melody was barely conscious when she surfaced, in what condition were Ash and Pikachu. The thought brought tears to her eyes, but before she could speak, Melody began to tear up.

"W-where's Ash? W-where is he?" she got out between sobs. "Did…did you f-find him t-too? He…He saved m-me! Where is he?" she started shouting, tears starting to roll down her face.

"Melody, just try and calm down. We'll find him," Brock tried to reassure the girls as tears were beginning to fall down Dawn's face as well. "Just try and tell us what happened?" He tried to calmly ask, although he could feel the worry in his voice as well.

"O-okay, w-well… We were surfing that one big wave and right when we reached the top of it, our boards were both hit from behind," she stopped to clean some of the tears from her face. "We flew so high in the air and when we hit the water I almost lost consciousness from how hard I hit it. I tried to look around to see what happened saw a large shadow a couple feet away. I don't know how, but Ash, Pikachu and I were in some type of bubble. We could breathe fine inside of it, but I didn't know what was happening." Her tears started to fall down her cheek as she remembered. "Right when my vision was becoming less blurry, I saw a large creature coming toward us at full speed. Before it reached us… he… Ash pushed me out of the bubble and he and Pikachu were taken away." She started sobbing again. "I felt all the water hit me like a ton of bricks, and I started to lose consciousness again. Before I did though I saw this floating near me and grabbed it before I blanked out." She said as she opened her hand.

"What is it?" Dawn asked while holding onto May who was still in shock.

"It's a silver feather." Brock answered.

* * *

 **There you have it, Chapter 6, done!**

 **I really don't mean to leave most chapters with cliffhangers. It... just... happens.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed and please remember to review and tell me how terrible my grammar is. It's pretty late so I hope you understand haha.**

 **No but, thank you for reading. I'll try to update a lot sooner this time.**

 **-HRS**


	7. Notes Nonetheless

**Welcome back everyone! I'm sorry for the wait. The chapter took a little longer than I thought to finish, but at least I kept my word. This one only took 6 days to upload, not 8! . . . :) *slowly walks away***

 **As usual thank you to all of you who read and follow this story. Thank you for those that review as well! It may not be a lot, but honestly, if just one of you is enjoying this journey, that's more than enough for me.**

 **A small side note concerning reviews: Its not much of a big problem but just a small perk of mine. I would greatly appreciate it if in the reviews, you guys tried to avoid any type of spoiler that future readers may stumble upon. I know I'm someone who will sometimes read reviews before reading a story, so let's try not to spoil certain parts of the story for our future readers! Thank you for understanding.**

 **Before we begin, I would only like to point out that the two settings taking place during this chapter are occurring at different points in time. The end of the chapter, as well as the next will explain why.**

 **Enough of my blabbering... Enjoy!**

* * *

"Hello, my name is Ash Ketchum and this is my best friend Pikachu. We're originally from Pallet Town in Kanto but have travelled along several different areas such as Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos, competing in their respective battle circuits and placing as high as second in the recent Kalos League Championship. Our dream is to become the world's greatest Pokémon Masters, and eventually settle down and start a family of our own some day. This… is the story of how we died and were unable to accomplish any of that."

"So how was that one Pikachu?"

"Pikapi pi chu Pika chu."

"What do you mean you should be introduced first?" the aubern-eyed boy asked. "I think the one who's speaking should get to introduce himself first."

"Chu pika," the electric mouse fired back.

"I think they'd have a harder time understanding you buddy," Ash answered, laughing at his friends insistence. "I can't even tell how long we've been here. I feel like its been ages and that headache still hasn't gone away."

"Pi," the pokémon agreed, holding his head as he shook it slightly.

"Lugia really owes us an explanation like this, you can't just kidnap someone and hold them captive." Suddenly, Ash's stomach let out a loud grumble that echoed along the walls of their surrounding. "On top of that, I'm starting to feel really hungry," he complained, slowly getting up and immediately reaching out in the darkness for something to support him. "That little trip sure did a number on us though, huh? My legs feel like they just ran a marathon."

As he walked farther into the darkness, he felt a cold wall, moistened by the water he knew was nearby. Pikachu jumped onto his trainer's shoulder as he began to walk along the wall, hoping to find an entry of some sort that would lead them back out into the open sea or at least toward some sunlight. His inability to gauge the time of day though left him wondering whether the sun was still out to begin with. The boy spent a couple of minutes slowly walking along until he steadily increased his speed. Eventually Ash broke into a slow jog up until his hand hit a particular rock that was sticking out of the wall.

"I knew it Pikachu. This is the third time we walk along this same rock," he pointed out. "We've been walking in a circle for who knows how long."

"Pika…" he answered, clearly frustrated and disappointed.

"This whole not being able to see thing sure is annoying. I really wish we had…" he stopped to reach his belt. "Huh, how did these get here? I could've sworn I left my pokémon near my clothes on the beach. Well, I definitely won't be one to complain, Leafeon come on out girl." Ash tossed out the wet pokeball, mentally hitting himself for not realizing his pokémon were still with him. The flash of light lit up the cavern momentarily before it dimmed away, releasing the grass-type.

"Leafeon?" she seemingly called out to no one as her vision was obscured in the dark.

"Right here Leafeon," Ash answered back, reaching for her. "As you can see, or well, not see, we need a little help. Do you think you can fire a Sunny Day towards the ceiling so we can have a bit of light in here."

The grass-type was enjoying her time snuggling up to Ash before she gladly obliged and charged up the fiery ball of heat, firing it into the ceiling. The ball of light flew high into the cavern before crashing against the ceiling and transforming into a miniature version of the sun, illuminating the cavern and providing a warm sensation against Ash's cold body. Unfortunately, he was only wearing his swimming trunks, with his shirt and hat left at the beach.

"There we go. Great job Leafeon," he scratched the young pokémon under the chin as she cooed in content. "Now we can actually see where we are." He finished, before standing and taking in his surroundings. "Although… there's not much to see," he sighed, realizing he was right about them walking in a circle.

The cavern was small and round with a high ceiling covered with jagged rocks in the shape of icicles hanging down. The circumference of the circle was also rather small, explaining how Ash could jog around the cavern in such a short amount of time. The only surprising feature of the cavern was a medium sized pool of water in the center, although even with the light from Sunny Day it was difficult to determine how deep the water was or where exactly it led to. Ash knew that the pool of water was their point of entry and in order to leave they would eventually need to swim through there.

"Well thankfully we decided to follow the wall. If not, we probably would've gone for another swim." He shuddered, thinking of how cold they felt before Leafeon's attack helped warm them up.

Suddenly he began thinking of his friends and how they were coping with his sudden disappearance. It was difficult to believe they would react in any way other than in a frenzied panic, as their friend was taken right before their eyes into a sea of uncertainty. He was not sure whether Melody was conscious enough to realize what happened and who took him in order to explain to his friends of his whereabouts, but worried more about whether the girl made it back to their friends in time. The moment the water guardian rushed towards them, Ash knew he needed to act quickly, hoping his plan would work and his friend would be spared. However, the moment he pushed Melody aside, he quickly lost consciousness as Lugia slammed into them and carried them away. The last thought crossing the young boy's mind was whether he would ever see his friends again, in particular a certain brunette coordinator.

"I wonder if Melody made it back okay?" The trainer asked his two companions, an underlying worry present in his face. "And even then, I wonder if she remembers what happened." He sighed, much to the displeasure of his two pokémon who rubbed against him in hopes of helping ease his worries. "I'm worried about them. There has to be a reason we were brought here, and if it has anything to do with my dream, they could be in danger too."

 _From what I can remember, in the dream I was taken underwater while a terrible storm began outside. There was electricity and fire clashing together while I sunk deeper into the water._ He began to rub the two pokémon laying by his side while trying to remember the important details of his dream. _Were my pokémon battling while I was being taken away? Or were they my friends'? Did the storm start after I was taken away? Ughh, I wish I knew what was really happening. My friends could be in trouble and I'm here just wasting time. Not to mention there's still those mysterious figures that were angrily charging towards me._ Ash started thinking of his last moments of consciousness before he woke up in the cavern. _Obviously, I can't stand the thought of never seeing any of my friends, but for some reason, when I think of not seeing May again, I feel this strange pain in my chest, almost as if the thought of losing her caused me physical pain as well as the emotional toll it would take. For some reason, I feel like I need to be by her side, protecting her during times like this, making sure she's happy and smiling no matter the sacrifices._

"Pika," the electric type said placing a paw on Ash's face, worried about the facial expressions forming on his trainers face, from worried to almost painful.

"Its okay Pikachu. Moping around here is not gonna get us anywhere." He began getting on his feet, feeling the helplessness overcome him. "I'm tired of just waiting around here. We're getting out of here guys."

"Pika!"

"Leafeon!"

With the support of his pokémon, Ash was beginning to feel his confidence slowly come back. Unfortunately, he now needed to come up with a plan to get them back to the surface land and their friends. He knew that they needed to swim; the question was how far and for how long. Being able to breathe in the psychic barrier created by Lugia allowed the pokémon to transport them as far as he chose, and because they were unconscious, they were unaware how far the cavern was from the surface.

"Alright, you guys stay here. I'm gonna jump in and try and find a way out of here. Once I find it, I'll come back and get you two."

"Pikapi!" he defiantly shook his head in disagreement. He knew from experience that legendary pokémon preferred to stay as far away from humans as possible and therefore this cavern probably fit that description. The idea of Pikapi heading into the unknown in order to save him brought back memories of the Sea Temple and his near death experience. Pikachu, unlike Ash, witnessed first hand the worry both he and May experienced that day. He understood May's pain when she saw her best friend place them in the escape pod and leave, as the negative thoughts of what would happen if Ash were to fail rushed into her mind. He felt her heartbeat quicken, as she held onto the Pokémon tighter in her arms. Besides Ash, May was probably the human Pikachu felt closest to among his trainer's friends and watching the pain she felt that day was definitely on his list of things he hated most. Pikachu knew he would be distraught if anything were to happen to Pikapi, but that day he knew, by placing him in that pod his trainer also entrusted May to him in hopes that his companion would be there to console and take care of May if things went wrong. Because of this, Pikachu felt responsible to bring Ash safely back to May at all costs.

"What do you mean no, Pikachu? You want to stay here?"

"Chu pika pi," he emphatically shook his head.

"I know its dangerous buddy, but we have to at least try." He pleaded with him.

Crouching down slightly into a battle stance, Pikachu unwillingly began to spark his cheeks, ready to stop his trainer by any means necessary. Ash saw this and slowly took a step back towards the water, pleading hands up around his face.

"Pikachu just relax, let's talk abou-"

Before Ash could finish pleading his case, a large wave of water rose up high into the air before splashing down hard onto the surround area, dousing the boy in the process. He flinched as the cold water showered him and ran towards his pokémon, turning to find the reason for the pillar of water. In front of the three stood the large guardian of the sea, Lugia, his large wingspan taking up most of the cavern. From the looks of the legendary pokémon, he was recently in battle, having a couple of scrapes and scorch marks along his body. His eyes showed a mixture of worry and sympathy as he gazed across the three individuals in front of him. Ash and Pikachu looked defiantly towards the much larger pokémon, while Leafeon froze in awe of his presence.

" _Pikachu is right Ash. Unfortunately, I can't let you leave."_ He telepathically spoke to the three.

* * *

After hearing her story for nearly the third time, Dawn felt the person in her arms slowly open her eyes. May was beginning to wake up from collapsing on the ground after she finished listening to Melody explain what happened the first time. Dawn was quick to grab her friend and hold her up, while Brock asked Melody to explain once and then twice more, hoping the girl would remember something more after explaining herself several times. Melody was beginning to calm down, although a couple of stray tears would roll down her face as she remembered Ash risking his life to save hers.

Dawn's attention was split as she tried to comfort May into waking up while trying to hear the details of Melody's story a second and third time. Although she felt the stream of emotions attempt to overwhelm her, the blunette knew she needed to be strong for the sake of her friends. May needed all the help she could get, Melody was in a similar situation, and even Ash would probably need Dawn to stay strong and figure out a way to help him. Paul tried his best to comfort Dawn without truly knowing how to do so, while Brock listened intently to Melody, occasionally reminding her that they would eventually find Ash and that in the end, things would be okay as they always are. Just as Melody was finishing for the third time, May stirred in Dawn's arms and slowly opened her eyes to take in her surroundings.

"W-where am I?" the brunette asked, slightly confused.

"We're still on the beach, May. After Melody explained what happened, you suddenly feinted." Brock answered her.

"Ash! Where is he? Did you guys find him?" she insistently asked, realizing that the events prior to feinting were a reality and not something she simply imagined. The realization caused the girl to go limp in Dawn's arms as she could feel the rush of negative emotions rise from within her. Her friends around her could feel that two individuals in particular were taking this harder than the rest of them. Melody was feeling guilty, almost blaming herself for everything happening, while May's reaction warranted a deeper understanding of the type of relationship she had with the boy, an understanding that only Brock truly came close to having.

For May, the idea that Ash was missing was not the reason behind her breakdown; this was only one of the many times she witnessed Ash be taken away from them by forces out of her control. The reason she was unable to control herself enough to stop crying was a looming thought that entered her mind after watching him disappear and Melody barely surface alive. _What if this is it,_ she thought. _What if this is the moment our luck runs out. What if he… what if he doesn't make it back to us… to me?_ She could feel her eyes begin to water as she slowly stood up and walked away from the group. _This can't be it. You can't keep leaving me like this Ash!_ She mentally yelled. _I still… I still need you here._ The stream of tears once again began rolling down her cheeks, as her puffy sapphire eyes were unable to stop it.

Watching her friend walk away, Dawn knew what she needed to do. "Stay with Melody, I'll go talk to her," she told Brock and Paul.

"So you're giving up? Just like that you're giving up on him?" Dawn demanded in an angry tone, much to the surprise of the three sitting down; her words stung May but she continued to stare out into the ocean. "After everything Ash has done for you, now when he probably needs us most you're just going to mope around and do nothing? Its okay for Ash to go out of his way for you and your problems, but when he needs you most, you fold like a chair. I can't believe you May." She told the brunette's back, this time almost yelling at her. "What a best friend you are…" she added, hoping her words would have the effect she wanted.

To this point, the sadness filling May's chest was being replaced by a fiery irritation towards the blunette whose words were digging deeper and deeper into her conscious. However, the last implication left May breathing fire as she swiftly turned around, ready to yell and shout at the girl attacking her. Before she could speak, the scene in front of her caught her off guard and she stopped herself. Dawn was crying uncontrollably, the tears rolling down her cheek as she sobbed. Her eyes clearly showed the pain in her chest but also revealed a fiery conviction in her resolve.

"I know you're scared May," she told her. "I am too. Actually, I'm terrified. Especially when I have no idea where Ash is or what happened to him." Her voice broke as she finished that last bit. "What I also know, is that right now, he could be in danger and in need of our help, and I for one want to be there for him. I know that moping around in our feelings won't help him, so even if my heart telling me one thing, my mind is telling me to push through it and help my friend. The only thing left to ask is whether you're ready to go help our friend or you want to stay here and sulk?" She asked again, much more fiercely than May was expecting.

Without speaking, May simply walked over to Dawn and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly, much to the surprise of the blunette and the others who were intently watching the sermon the former was giving.

"Thank you Dawn. I needed that." She answered before letting go of the girl and wiping the stray tears from her cheek. "Now let's go find Ash."

* * *

It was clear to Ash and his pokémon that Lugia was speaking telepathically to them, as it was not the first time he experienced the sensation. What troubled the young trainer were the words to come from the large guardian.

"W-what do you mean you can't let us Lugia. Why not," he yelled back, unable to hold the frustration that was building inside him. "You can't just take me away from friends and expect me to sit idly by while they could be in danger."

" _Your friends are fine, young guardian. A little worried…"_ he paused." _Well more than a little worried, but still fine nonetheless._ " He calmly answered the boy, much to the relief of the latter, his tense shoulders resting easy.

"Well I still want answers as to why you decided to just abduct us like that and why we can't go back. What were you even doing there?" Ash demanded once again, although calmer than before.

" _I will answer your questions in due time, young guardian. First, why don't you change into some dry clothes and eat something. I sensed you were all probably hungry,_ " he added, much to the embarrassment of the three as their stomachs growled in unison. Lugia's eyes began to glow as he used his psychic powers to hand Ash a backpack with dry clothes and packs of food.

After hearing of the wellbeing of his friends, Ash was able to calm down and take up Lugia's offer to change and eat, although he questioned how the large pokémon gathered such supplies. In spite of this, the boy reached to his belt and released the rest of his pokémon, considering they were just as hungry having not eaten in who knows how long. The remaining pokémon were surprised to see their current location, but were completely taken aback when they noticed the large guardian pokémon carefully eyeing them. After reassuring words from their trainer, they all sat down to eat, as Ash recounted the events up until the present moment. Lugia simply rested nearby, watching as the cautious group ate their food in silence. Noticing they were almost finished, the large pokémon moved closer to them before sighing deeply.

" _I think in order for you to truly understand everything that's happening, its probably best if I start with the events that happened last time you were in Shamouti Island. Where to begin…"_

* * *

Seeing the resolve within Dawn and May's eyes, Melody knew she needed to muster enough strength to follow their lead in their quest to search for their friend. Ash risking his life for her was one of the many reasons she felt the need to help the boy now more than ever. She knew that if something were to happen to him, she would never forgive herself for bringing them into this situation and although her new friends would never hold it against her, there was no way to be sure, especially watching May's reaction to the possibility of Ash being lost forever. That and the fact that her relationship with the boy was an important part of her life pushed her through the gloomy state she was in and towards a resolution to find him. Just as she was lost in thought, Brock spoke up and broke her concentration.

"Well from the information we have so far, we can probably conclude that Ash was taken by Lugia," the older friend said with a pensive face. Brock could hear a slight gasp from Dawn and May while Paul's eyes widened at the mention of the guardian pokémon. "The description given by Melody of the large creature that approached them, along with the silver feather left after Ash was taken are the lead clues into that assumption. We need to assume that Lugia took Ash to his resting place or a home of some sort, which according to Melody, would be near the coasts of Shamouti Island. We can try speaking to some of the locals that know of Lugia and maybe they have information we can use to find him. If we find him, we more than likely find Ash. That's probably our safest bet in terms of where to go from here. What do you guys think?"

As Brock finished, he scanned around to look at the approving faces of his friends. May replaced the weeping face she previously had with a fierce and determined look. Dawn was much of the same, with Paul nodding in approval at the older friend's plan. Brock looked over at Melody and saw the girl gloomily looking at the floor, unable to look her friends in the face.

"I'm sorry…" she quietly let out. "This is all my fault. I'm the one who suggested we come here. If we had just gone shopping like you guys suggested," she said while looking at the two girls, "none of this would have happened. Ash would still… he would still be here." She started choke up again thinking about it. Before she could continue, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"It's not your fault, Melody. Trust me, Ash attracts these kinds of things. With him, he would probably get abducted while in the bathroom." May tried to joke, hoping to lighten the already glum atmosphere in the group. Melody giggled slightly while the rest of the group smiled at the truth behind May's words. "We can't control what already happened, but we can control what happens from here on out." She looked at Dawn as she said those words.

"Thank you May. I really appreciate it," she smiled at the brunette coordinator. "In that case, we can take my boat back to Shamouti. I think I might know someone who can help us track Lugia." As they started to pick up their belonging from the beach and make their way towards the resort, Paul came into a realization that no one else seemed to notice.

"I hate to break up the big hoorah, but don't you guys think we should let Ash's mom know about this? Does she even know about all the times Ash has ended up in these situations?" Paul abruptly asked. Melody visibly flinched when Paul mentioned Ash's mom and waited for someone to answer.

"Honestly… no." Brock nervously laughed while shaking his head. "If its in his power to do so, Ash usually keeps these small details out of his stories. He would rather not worry his mom more than she already does. Although I'm sure part of her mother's intuition probably lets her know something's up."

"Typical Ash to put other people's needs before his own," Dawn added. "It'll be interesting to see what Ash comes up with when his mother asks him how he enjoyed the trip."

Relieved to hear Dawn using the word 'when' rather than 'if', May giggled as she pictured the raven-haired boy's signature goofy smile. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there." She added, before noticing something surprisingly unusual after putting on her shorts and shirt. "Guys, where are Ash's things? I'm pretty sure he at least left his hat on the beach before going in the water."

Noticing that May was right, they each began to search the beach for any sign of his belongings. Much to their surprise, his stuff was gone.

"That's so strange. You think someone took his things while we were in the water?" Dawn asked.

"I don't think that's it. I'm the only one that knows of this please so it couldn't have been another person. But maybe…" Melody began.

"Another pokémon!" May finished. "You guys think Lugia's not working alone?"

"There's a strong possibility that whatever Lugia is planning would involve another pokémon." Brock added.

With the new piece of information it was evident that everyone's brains were starting to process different scenarios and reasons for why a powerful pokémon like that would need help from someone else. As they silently walked towards the resort, May decided it was best to let a certain ice type out of her poke ball to give her the news. She knew that, like herself, Glaceon was very close to Pikachu and would probably take the news similar to how she did. However, it was probably best to tell her rather than keep the information and have her find out later. At least now, the brunette could help her cope with the situation, just as Dawn did with her.

"Glaceon," she nudged May's leg, happily greeting her trainer.

"Hey Glaceon, there's something I need to talk to you about," she started as she noticed the ice type searching for Pikachu among the group of friends walking. "Its not something you probably want to hear, but I think you should know." She started to tell her pokémon the situation, feeling her eyes water as her Glaceon began to tear up listening to Ash and Pikachu risk their lives and eventually be taken away to an unbeknownst place. May decided to carry her while telling her the details in order to hug her tightly during the hardest moments. After she was done, Glaceon was visibly saddened but quickly changed the expression on her face to one similar to May's after Dawn's talk. The ice type knew this was not the time for her to sulk in her emotions, but rather a time she, along with her trainer needed to be strong for the sake of their boys.

"I'm sure glad you took it far better than I did," she rubbed under her beloved pokémon's neck. "We'll get them back, I promise."

"Glaceon!"

* * *

Once they reached their destination, the gang was quick to run to their rooms and collect their belongings. Brock stayed behind and spoke to the attendant at the front desk, explaining that they would be visiting Shamouti Island for a couple of days and would try their best to make it in time to check out. He wanted to let her know that if they did not make it in time, they would call to let them know; either way, the gang decided to gather all of their things, leaving nothing behind. Paul was currently grabbing both his and Brock's items while Dawn and Melody were currently in their room, hastily rummaging through the room to make sure they did not forget anything.

"Dawn, can I ask you something?"

"Sure Mel, what is it?" Dawn stopped to look at the brunette.

"Does May like Ash?" she flatly asked, catching the girl by surprise.

"Huh? W-what makes you think that? And why are you asking now of all times while we're trying to go save Ash?"

"I-I guess you're right, this isn't the right time." She quickly agreed. "I just wanted to know. They just seem really close, that's all."

"Well yeah, they've always been really close. Ash just has that effect on people. He can make the worst of enemies into a friend; just ask Paul." She stifled a laugh thinking of the rocky relationship the two once had. "Part of the reason I was able to do so well in my contests was because of his support and encouragement. He'll do anything for his friends, and that's why we need to do everything we can to find him." She finished with a small smile creeping on her face.

"Yeah… He truly is one of a kind, huh?" Melody asked, also smiling slightly.

* * *

"C'mon Glaceon, if you were Ash's other sock, where would you be?" May asked as the two were frantically trying to gather all of Ash's things.

"Glaceon glace," she answered back.

"I know. These boys are such a mess but just wait until I see him so I can give him a piece of my mind." She warned, earning a nervous laugh from her companion.

The two were about done packing their things and were finishing Ash's bag before being able to leave. They were searching for the last of his clothes, cursing the boy for his lack of organization. Throughout the whole time, May could only help but wonder what kind of situation Ash found himself in while his friends were worried sick trying to find him. _I really hope your okay Ash. I really don't want to think about what I would do if something were to happen to you. I need my best friend Ash…"_ she lost herself in thought as Glaceon called to let her know she found the missing sock. _Glaceon is also pretty worried, even if she's trying to act tough. I know she's worried about you Pikachu, so where ever you are, make sure you keep you and that clumsy trainer of yours out of trouble,_ she silently begged. _I wish there was a way of knowing you guys were okay though… at least that would calm all our nerves a bit. I know I'm not the only one worried about you guys. Everyone is pretty shaken up about the whole thing, but I don't know if they're trying to stay positive for my sake, or their own. I rarely ever see Brock shaken up like he was today. The only other time I remember is when you told me about your trip to New Island with Brock and Misty._

"Glace."

By this time, May had unconsciously walked out into the balcony and was staring out into sunset when Glaceon nudged her, worried about the thoughts running through her trainer's head.

"I'm okay Glaceon. Just thinking about them y'know?" She tried to muster up a genuine smile. "I'm sure they would love to be watching this sunset with us too." A single tear made its way down May's cheek before she cleaned it off, shaking off the sudden melancholy. _Just please be okay…_

As she turned around head inside and collect their things to meet the others, May froze as she saw a small white note taped to the outside of the balcony's sliding glass doors. The curtains on the inside did not allow her to see the note when she stepped outside, but it stood directly in front of her when she turned around. She grabbed the note and opened it before gasping.

 _May,_

 _We're okay._

 _Ash and Pikachu._

* * *

 **I'm not evil I promise. Some cliffhangers are just necessary hahaha.**

 **Once again, I hope you all enjoy and if you find it in the kindness of your heart, leave a review ;).  
**

 **I also wanted to ask the readers a question. I noticed the last three chapters have been posted close to the weekend. My question is, would you all prefer i settled for one day, let's say, Fridays or Saturdays to post new chapters? Or would you rather I just update freely, sometimes uploading once or twice a week. Your answers will probably determine when chapter 8 will be posted.**

 **Let me know in a comment or message or review.**

 **Thanks again!**

 **-HRS**


	8. Truth and Perception

**Happy Valentine's Day everyone.**

 **With regards to my question from last chapter, Winter Arctica pointed out that I can easily do both. Thanks for that! Don't know how I didn't realize it sooner hahah.**

 **Enjoy Chapter 8, more to be said at the end of the chapter, so stay tuned.**

* * *

"Alright, you're gonna' have to explain that again. I'm… WHAT?" the boy blinked in disbelief as the large Guardian Pokémon in front of him finished explaining for the second time the entirety of events occurring now.

Visibly getting frustrated at the boy's lack of comprehension, Lugia sighed and obliged his request. " _This will be the last time young guardian_."

"Wait, why do you keep calling me 'young guardian'?" the boy interrupted, finally realizing after hearing Lugia use the title several times.

"Pi pika chu!"

"I'm not trying to interrupt, I'm just curious," Ash defended.

" _You would know better than I about that,"_ he cryptically answered.

"Do you mean because of Rota? How did you find out about that? I haven't even told my friends about that…" Lugia tried to hide a smile at the confusion on Ash's face.

" _With your experience with us legendaries, its only… natural for you to be part of our discussions young guardian. Mew grew quite fond of you and detailed your training under Rota's guardians."_ The large pokémon answered _._ The utter shock in Ash's face was evident, as he could barely believe he was the subject of conversation between the powerful forces that governed their world.

"I can't believe you guys actually have discussions about me though," he started with a pensive face. "What else have you guys been saying about me?"

" _That's a different discussion for a different day Ash. Now onward to the reason you're here…"_ he began before deeply inhaling _._ " _You recall clearly the events of Shamouti Island many years ago, with the collector Laurence, correct?"_

"Of course. He tried capturing you, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres," he recalled angrily at the course of events from that day. He was traveling with his friends Misty and Tracy around the Orange Islands when a storm caused them to dock on Shamouti Island. After an unconventional greeting from the locals, he was involved in a years long tradition involving some orbs from different islands. Unable to contain his determination, he began the ceremony in the midst of the storm where he eventually would face off against the legendary trio. _Man, I really was careless back then,_ he thought. _Heck… I'm still pretty careless, I haven't changed as much as I think. I mean, here I am once again in the middle of another attempt against the world's peace._

" _Indeed young guardian, but it is that carelessness that defines a part of who you are,"_ Lugia answered, seemingly knowing the thoughts currently running through the boy's mind. " _But nonetheless, the consequences of the events from that day stretched far beyond the reaches of Shamouti Island, as you may very well have learned."_

Ash nodded, recalling the severe weather affecting their boat."Yeah, I remember my mom explaining the sudden shifts in weather in Pallet Town that day as well as the strange behavior from the pokémon."

" _Precisely. However, the severe weather changes stretched even beyond the Kanto region, reaching several places in Johto as well, in particular Ecruteak City."_ He paused waiting for an understanding nod from the trainer before continuing. " _Do you remember the story of the Burned Tower?"_ Lugia figured it was easier to understand if Ash answered the questions himself rather than explaining everything in detail like the first two times.

"I remember it burning down after a random bolt of lightn-" he stopped, starting to place the pieces together. "Wait… you mean to tell me the bolt of lightning that started the fire was caused by the fighting around Shamouti Island?" Lugia solemnly nodded. "Does that mean that the mysterious sudden rain pour was caused by...?"

" _Yes young guardian. After we settled things here, I quickly travelled to Johto to abolish the fire. Unfortunately, it was already too late and the damage was done."_

By this time, Ash was pacing back in forth trying to piece together everything in his head in a sensible way, his loyal pokémon following their trainer as he walked from one end to another. "See this is where I get confused. Didn't the tower burn down years ago? How could we have burned the tower if the tower was already burned?"

" _There's more to the story of the Burned Tower than what you humans know. The story told by your people is a way to explain the legendary trio of dogs, Entei, Suicune, and Raikou. And, while it is true that because of the storm, three pokémon were killed and later revived by Ho-Oh, this is not the whole story."_

Ash knew the only way to understand everything happening was to closely listen to the Guardian Pokémon rather than attempt to work it out in his head. He decided to sit down with his pokémon as the throbbing headache from before was returning from the stressful attempt to process everything.

" _In your version of the story, the only victims of the fire were the three legendary dogs. However, the actual truth is there were many more casualties than just the three pokémon. You see, during this time, the people of Ecruteak City would often times visit the towers to offer many prayers or requests of Ho-OH or myself; it was almost customary to appear among these groups of people to reinforce their faith in us and offer hope in their moments of tribulation."_ Ash noticed a wave of melancholy crash over Lugia's face as he remembered a better, more peaceful time. " _As a result, that fateful evening there were many groups of people following the tradition of visiting our towers_. _Unfortunately, this visit would be their last as the fire claimed everyone present at the time, humans, and pokémon alike."_ As Lugia finished explaining, he could see the confusion on Ash's face dissipate as a face of sorrow took its place.

" _You are probably wondering how the stories have changed in recent times. After the fire was extinguished, Ho-OH and I witnessed the grief and sorrow that struck the city and its inconsolable people. Because of the lasting impression it would leave on the people, Ho-Oh decided it was best to erase the memory of the events from that day and replace it with the story that has been told until this day of the mysterious lightning and the resurrection of the three legendary dogs."_ He paused to make sure Ash was still listening intently before continuing. " _After that, Ho-Oh was filled with an uncontrollable rage towards the ones involved in the fighting and the destruction it caused. His anger towards me was on the basis that I did not do the job entrusted to me in keeping the balance between Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Your story finishes with explaining how Ho-Oh left the city in search of a trainer with a pure heart while I left to the Whirl Islands in search of a new home. In actuality, Ho-Oh left in order to plot the details of his plan while keeping a close eye on a certain trainer. I, on the other hand, did leave to the Whirl Islands, but only to escape from the guilt and disappointment I felt with myself for allowing such a thing to happen."_

"But that's a lie!" Ash interrupted, unable to hear how Lugia was shouldered with the majority of the blame. "You did your job! We stopped the fighting and restored peace again."

" _Unfortunately, Ho-Oh does not see it in such a way and claims it should never have come to that. To make matters worse, I recently discovered that the true reasoning behind Ho-OH's resurrection of the three pokémon who lost their lives that day was to create a weather trio of his own that could fight against the legendary birds. He's bent on his revenge and manipulated the anger and pain of Entei, Suicune, and Raikou to follow through with his goals."_

"Well we have to stop them then and explain what happened. Is that why you called me here? To help explain to them what truly happened?" Ash asked in a hopeful tone.

" _Not quite Ash. The fighting has already begun as its evident with my appearance. At this point, words will do little to help ease the tensions between the two groups. The reason you are here is that you, Ash, play a vital role in this fight and will be the cause for peace or everlasting war between legendary pokémon. You see, Ho-Oh holds you to blame as well for the events that transpired that day. Although you are the reason we were able to stop the fighting that day, your presence that day makes you an accomplice to my incompetence."_ Lugia paused to gauge the reaction of the young trainer, but found him simply nodding in acceptance of everything spoken. His face expressed a frustration caused by the helpless feeling that was overtaking him." _He actually holds resentment against trainers because of their abuse of the power of pokémon. He holds the people of Ecruteak City close to his heart after countless years of harmony, but after a few years that resentment grew towards humanity, as he believed their intrinsic desire for greed and power will eventually corrupt them entirely."_

After Lugia finished his last sentiment, Ash got up with a determined look and unwavering smile ever-present on his face. "Well, we're just gonna' have to change his mind about that, right guys?" He asked his faithful companions who all shouted in unison.

Lugia smiled at the scene in front of him and only grew in admiration for the boy who, even after listening to the dangers and consequences of the events from that day, kept his hope and will to change things around him for the better. He was beginning to understand why Mew's liking of the boy grew so drastically in such a short amount of time together. The boy was a central piece to not only this fight, but of future fights to come; his unwavering faith and love for his pokémon were part of the reason he seemingly always stood out from others around him.

" _Young guardian, do you remember the Shamouti prophecy and your involvement in it?"_ he asked.

Breaking out of the pep talk between him and his pokémon the boy turned to face the Guardian Pokémon and rubbed the back of his head. "To be honest, I don't. All I remember is something about Ash and the world turning to me." He nervously chuckled while Pikachu face-palmed, visibly embarrassed for his trainer.

" _I'm not surprised,"_ Lugia let out a small laugh of his own, before reciting the entirety of the prophecy to Ash.

 _Disturb not the harmony of Fire, Ice, or Lightning_

 _Lest these Titans wreak destruction_

 _Upon the world in which they clash_

 _Though, the Water's Great Guardian shall arise to quell the fighting_

 _Alone its song will fail_

 _Thus the earth shall turn to ash._

" _Up until recently, these were the known words of the prophecy."_

"Wait, you mean the prophecy changed?" Ash repeatedly blinked in disbelief, wondering if he heard correctly.

" _Not necessarily. During one of my recent travels, I stumbled upon the original tablet inscribed with the prophecy and it seems the wording of the final line was incorrectly translated from the old text. In the current prophecy, final line is 'Thus the earth shall turn to ash'. However, in small washed away print, the original tablet contained an additional character, 'menó', meaning to stay, abide, or remain."_ Lugia paused to take in the confusion on Ash's face and sighed once more _. Well, it's a good thing he's not chosen for his brilliant young mind,_ he quietly thought. " _The actual prophecy should read, 'Thus the earth shall continue to turn to ash'"_

"I don't see what the big deal is though. It is basically the same thing, right? What difference does that one word make?" He asked, still unable to comprehend the significance of what Lugia was saying.

" _You see Ash, you have been chosen, not for the prophecy of Shamouti, or to bring balance to the Orange Islands, but rather for keeping the peace between the pokémon world. The adding of 'continue' implies that the world will turn to you more than once. More than once will you have to help, fight, and even sacrifice in order to keep the balance of peace."_ He emphasized heavily on the word sacrifice. " _Do you not question why you always find yourself in the middle of battles that are not your own, battles that usually involve a sense of world destruction or instability. You are destined for things much greater than yourself and I think its about time for you to start to recognize that,"_ he finished strongly, hoping to express the urgency of the matter.

For the first time since they began speaking, Ash was reflecting on the events throughout his life and the countless times he was in situations fitting the description Lugia gave. Often times the boy attributed these events to sheer luck or coincidence, but he was now starting to understand that there was something more to it than that. There was a reason for the madness and whether he was ready to associate it with destiny having certain plans for him or not was besides the point that what Lugia said made sense. Ash was starting to realize that it was about time he started to focus on things other than just becoming a pokémon master. Although his life's goal was ever-present on his mind, there was usually little room for any other goals or plans for his life. He knew this had to change, learning now that there was an expectation on him that superseded any league or tournament.

"I think I understand now Lugia. Thank you for that." He started while smiling at his pokémon. "Its time I start to prioritize what's really important in my life." _And_ _ **who**_ _is really important in my life_ , he silently thought. As his mind began to unconsciously wonder on a certain brunette, he remembered the reason behind this discussion.

"Lugia, why did you separate me from my friends? They can help us through all of this." Ash asked.

" _Unfortunately Ash, from following your adventures we realized you have a deep connection with your friends and they play a huge role in your life. Because of this, we knew Ho-Oh would try to use this as a weakness and easy way of manipulating you. In order to prevent them from coming into harms way, I decided it was best to keep them out of this. I do not want more innocent lives brought into this mess."_ The large pokémon answered. Although he wanted to sound as serene and calm as usual, the form in which he spoke was worthy of his title of Guardian of the Sea as it offered little room for debate.

Ash knew Lugia was right about bringing his friends into this fight, but he knew the source of his strength during these instances was his strong connection to his friends and their faith in him. He knew if he had their support he would feel as though he could do anything and take on every challenge thrown his way. However, he knew Lugia was unwilling to negotiate and he dropped it for now.

"Lugia, can you at least find a way to let them know I'm okay? Knowing them they're probably worried sick about me," he pleaded.

" _That is fine young guardian. In the bag there should be a small paper and pen you can write a message on."_

Ash quickly rummaged through the bag and found what Lugia called a 'paper'. It was an old and wrinkly sticky note that was no bigger than Ash's palm. _Gee thanks…_ he annoyingly thought. "Well it looks like we'll have to make it short and sweet buddy."

"Pi pika chu pi."

"I know I know, I'll make sure to include you in the note too. We wouldn't want Glaceon to worry too much, right?" he playfully winked at the electric type who blushed and nervously laughed. "I'm not as dense as I look."

"Chu…"

"What's that supposed to mean, huh?"

"Cha pika pi."

"May has nothing to do with this and you know it..." he tried to convince himself.

"Pi."

Lugia watched as the two bickered amongst themselves and halfheartedly smiled. _I hope you know what you are in for Ash._

* * *

"I'm not imagining this right Glaceon? This actually says its from Ash and Pikachu right?"

The ice type nuzzled her trainers hand in approval and hoping she would react.

"We need to show the others this."

The two grabbed the rest of their things and walked towards the resort's lobby where the rest of their friends were waiting for them. They were all sitting in the waiting area when May and Glaceon walked in.

"Guys we have a problem, I found this on my balcony's door." She handed the small note to Brock who read it aloud and then passed it along for everyone to see it.

"Well its Ash's handwriting, that's for sure." Brock said, pointing out the way in which the trainer wrote his name.

"Yeah but how do we know he really wrote that?" Dawn argued. "I mean that's strange for Ash to just leave such a vague note with little details. Maybe he's in danger and this was all he was able to write?" she suggested.

"I don't know. Something inside me tells me that he's actually okay," May started, wavering in her words. "I'm just not sure what to make of the note though. Its almost as though he doesn't want us to find him."

The group thought silently while looking at the note for a couple of minutes before Melody grew frustrated and spoke up.

"Well I for one am not just going to sit here and wait to hear from Ash again. We need to stick to the plan and get some information about where Lugia might be keeping Ash."

"Melody is right guys. We can't assume much from this one note. We need to just continue with the plan." Brock agreed. "Before we do though, you should probably all call your families and let them know that we're okay. In the meantime I'll let the receptionist know that if Ash's mom calls to let her know we stepped out to the beach or to eat or something. Hopefully she doesn't call often though."

With that, Brock left to speak to the receptionist while the rest of the group headed over to the videophones. Paul called his brother in Sinnoh, while Dawn called her mother. Melody found no need to speak to her family as she would see them soon enough and decided to accompany May while she spoke to her family, offering support if she needed it. Melody could tell she was still pretty shaken up by everything that happened today and wanted to make sure she would be all right speaking to her family.

* * *

After speaking to her mother, Dawn went over to Paul and hugged him. "With everything that's happening I'm glad to know that you're okay Paul."

"Sure Dawn," he awkwardly returned the hug. Dawn could feel her heart start to beat faster and took a deep breathe, giving into her feelings of the moment and the circumstances around them to take a leap of faith.

"You know Paul, maybe when this is all done, maybe we can start traveling together… as a couple." She nervously asked while turning away from the boy.

"A couple? What do you mean?" he asked, confusion written all over his face. Dawn was clearly taken back by it but continued nonetheless knowing there was no going back now.

"Well I think it's pretty obvious that I have feelings for you Paul that go deeper than just a friendship. And well, I just thought with all the time we've been spending together that you felt the same way." She could feel her eyes start to water and tried to shake the feeling but found it harder than she hoped.

"Dawn…" Paul was beginning to understand what the young blunette was saying and felt a rush of guilt pass through him. "I… I'm sorry but, I don't feel the same way. I didn't mean to lead you on like this, I was just listening to what Ash told me." Realizing he said too much, the boy tried to take back what he said but Dawn's overwhelming sadness was replaced with a growing anger.

"What do you mean what Ash told you?" she asked, almost yelling. "What exactly did he tell you? To talk to me out of pity?" she could no longer hold it in and started to cry in front of the boy as he stood frozen in place unaware of what to do.

"Its not like that Dawn," he tried to say. "Ash simply told me one day that my way of treating people was quite harsh and that I should try to make more friends."

"So basically I'm a charity case for you? Just something to check off your list." Dawn interrupted. As she was about to run towards the bathroom, Paul grabbed her by the arm.

"That's not it Dawn. You were the first person I thought of when he told me to make more friends. The more we spoke and hung out, the more I realized how Ash was right about you being an amazing friend." Dawn blushed slightly at his comment before Paul continued. "I just don't want to lose my friend over something like this."

Dawn's anger slowly faded but was unable to control the tears that flowed from her cheek as she simply nodded and walked away, leaving a guilty Paul sighing.

* * *

"Thanks for the support Mel, this really has taken a toll on me. I'm just glad we have some sort of idea about Ash and how he's doing." May told the brunette as she finished with her family.

"No problem May. Trust me, I understand how you're feeling. I know I haven't known Ash for as long as you have, but I still feel really connected to him. Y'know?" She asked the brunette who smilingly nodded. "Who else are you calling May?" The coordinator was dialing another number on the videophone and before she could answer, a young man around Ash's age appeared on the screen; he had dark brown hair, a white lab coat, and a familiar smirk.

"Hey Gary, how are you?" May asked the familiar boy.

"Hiya May. I didn't expect to be hearing from you while on your trip. Is everything okay?" The boy asked, skipping the pleasantries. Gary developed an impressive skilled that involved reading body language and facial expressions, making it almost impossible to keep secrets from the young assistant.

Before May could speak, Melody grabbed her shoulder and mouthed who that was. May quickly explained how he was a childhood friend of Ash's and how they were basically best friends for long periods of their life. She assured Melody that Gary was beyond trust worthy and began explaining to the boy everything that happened up until this point. Gary's face changed only slightly when hearing about Ash being taken away to a hidden location with Lugia. After May was finished, Gary nodded once in understanding before speaking.

"I'm on my way. Meet you guys in Shamouti," was all he said before hanging up.

"The more help we have, the better. And although he didn't show much, I know Gary is worried about Ash." May explained to Melody who still questioned whether they should have told anyone else about Ash's abduction.

"If you say so, May." she answered.

* * *

Once Brock was back, the group departed the resort and walked towards the beach shore to find Melody's boat and sail back to her home island in hopes of finding clues to Ash's whereabouts. Melody was leading the way, Paul and Brock flanking her with May not far behind. Dawn, walking at a much slower pace, was slightly behind the brunette, still thinking about what happened between her and Paul only moments before. May noticed the blunette and waited for her to catch up.

"Dawn is everything okay? You've been pretty quiet since we left the resort."

"I'm fine May, thanks for asking." She dryly answered.

"Well that's not very Dawn-like," she teased. "What's wrong? Did something happen back home?"

The blunette knew that her friend was a persistent one and was not one to drop the subject if she knew it was bothering her. "Paul…" she quietly answered.

"Oh no, what about Paul?"

"I was stupid, that's what. I wore my heart on my sleeve and it backfired." She answered, feeling the tears start to swell up. May placed a hand on her shoulder and asked her friend to start from the beginning to which the blunette unwillingly obliged.

"I can't believe it Dawn. I'm so sorry," she told her friend. "I know its probably not what you want to hear, but at least Paul was honest with you. Better it be now than later on and it be worse."

"I guess, it still just hurts."

"Daijoubu. Isn't that what you always tell me?"

Dawn looked at her friend in disbelief hearing her own phrase used against her and smiled thankfully. "Thanks May, everything will be okay."

"Exactly, and no matter what I'll always be here for you. As soon as we get Ash back, he'll be there for you two and the trio will be back for good," she finished with an enthusiastic grin and fist in the air. Dawn smiled and nodded, before the two caught up with their friends.

* * *

Realizing the girls were speaking a few steps behind them, Brock decided now was as good a time as ever to take care of the favor he promised May.

"So Melody, have you and Ash spoken much since he last visited the Orange Islands," he casually began.

"Mmm, not really. There were few times I could actually catch him at home, and I never really knew in what part of the world he was in." Brock nodded, seizing the opportunity Melody left for him.

"Oh, so you called often then?"

The brunette froze shortly before answering back. "Just a couple of times, nothing big." She tried to shake off. She knew exactly where the conversation was heading and was beginning to feel annoyed at the constant bombardment of questions regarding her relationship with Ash.

"Look I know where this is going Brock, and before you continue I'll make it easier for you. I feel for Ash something more than just friendship, but that's all I'm saying and I won't get into the details of it. But tell May she has nothing to worry about." She said, rather bluntly.

Brock was trying to speak but found he could not after hearing what the girl said. Just as he came to his senses, the two girls caught up to them. _Well that was unexpected. I don't even know whether to tell May or not,_ the older friend thought.

"Everything okay up here?" May asked.

"Swimmingly." Melody answered, "boat's this way." She finished, walking ahead to the pier leading to a medium sized white boat. The rest of the group looked at each other in confusion before following the girl to the boat.

As they each boarded the ship and placed their belongings in a small room near the stairs, Melody started the boat and reeled in the anchor before they were on their way. The boat ride was a quiet one, often times filled with awkward silence with tensions now high between various members of the group. Brock figured he would do his best to fix the situation he was partially responsible for by speaking on a matter that would spark everyone's interest.

"So Melody, you said there was someone you knew who might know about how to find Lugia. Who exactly did you have in mind?" Brock asked, breaking the silence and much to the relief of the rest of the members on the boat.

The brunette in question was certainly relieved as well. She did not intend on acting as hostile as she did towards the others but her patience for their petty interest in her relationship was downing on her. "His name is Lawrence. He's actually the reason Ash wound up on Shamouti in the first place. He's responsible for what happened that day."

The others were instantly shocked to learn about who they were going to see. May remembered how Ash spoke briefly about what happened and from what he said, this man was no saint. She recalled that Lawrence tried capturing Lugia by first capturing each of the legendary bird trio and almost succeeded if it wasn't for Ash and his friends. The thought of this man possibly having a role to play in everything immediately worried May as all positivity she was feeling up until now quickly vanished. _We're coming Ash. Just hold on._

Distracted by the sudden news laid upon them, the group was quick to jump at the sound of a loud screeching noise. They frantically searched around them, only to find miles of water in each of their directions before finally looking towards the sky. Dawn was the first to notice the large figure before reaching out for May and pointing towards the sky, unable to release her gaze the entire time.

"Guys, we have a big problem," May quietly said as everyone turned up towards the sky.

It suddenly dawned on the group that they were currently miles away from any strip of land, stranded in the middle of the ocean with little support, and facing the legendary Moltres, who, to make matters worse, looked as if it just finished a fierce battle that left it no happier than it usually is.

* * *

"Alright Lugia I'm ready. I can't even tell how long its been, but I could really use some sunshine right about now," the boy tried to playfully nudge the large Guardian Pokémon he was currently riding before an embarrassed Pikachu smacked his little paw across his head.

"Pi pika chu pi."

"I know he's a legend… I was only joking buddy," Ash tried to defend himself.

" _Let's get going then,_ " he answered the boy, his eyes beginning to glow in a light blue.

Before Ash could react, a familiar blue lining that held the surrounding air intact suddenly surrounded him and Pikachu. _So I was right. He did use Psychic to keep us breathing,_ he thought. In an instant, Lugia quickly flew high in the cavern before diving into the water from which they came, swimming at speeds unimaginable to the two on his back. _We're coming guys._

* * *

 **Our hero is finally coming back!  
**

 **Our poor Dawn experiences heartbreak. I'm sure we've all felt that one. No worries though, I love Dawn too much to keep her unhappy... or do I? I do haha. Unlike other shippers, I don't hate any of the rival shipping characters. I consider everyone in the series a big happy family, as you can probably already tell.**

 **A few things:**

 **Dawn's Daijoubu. Its basically her catchphrase in Japanese, and it basically means "No worries" or "Everything's going to be okay". Something along those lines. I actually learned this from a fellow writer who unfortunately no longer writes, LuciferIX. If you haven't already, check out his stories because in my honest and humble opinion, his "The Puppeteer's Wishes" is the best advanceshipping story on Fanfic. (No disrespect intended to anyone). He's the reason I even began writing myself, so if you're familiar with him you'll see that some little things here and there are inspirations from his writing. Matt is awesome!**

 **Secondly, a large part of the plot is developed in this chapter. (Have no fear, we still have a long way to go)**

 **As i stated last chapter, please be weary of including potential spoilers in reviews. If you want to discuss anything in specifics with me, don't feel shy to PM me.**

 **Enough ranting. Ch9 will be up this weekend!**


	9. Fire, Ice, and Lightning

**Welcome back everyone! First let me apologize for being unable to update during the weekend as I promised. I've been busier than usual lately and I don't like it haha.**

 **To make it up to you all, I'll definitely update this weekend coming up.  
**

 **Once again, thank you to all who follow and review and support!**

 **Onward to Ch9.**

* * *

May took a moment to take in her surroundings; she was sitting on one side of the boat's main level with Dawn next to her. Across from the girls were Brock and Paul, with Melody standing on the platform near the wheel of the boat. Her jaw grew slack in awe of the threat in front of them: an angry Moltres, whose normally yellow feathers wore patches of black soot and burn marks.

Melody quickly halted the ship in preparations for any attacks the legendary bird of fire would soon throw at them. Almost as if its mere presence was enough, the gang was frozen in place, unable to make a move. Paul ran several scenarios through his head in which each time, they needed some sort of distraction to get to their poke balls that were currently downstairs. Moltres stared at each member on the boat individually sending a chill down May's spine when the legendary finally locked eyes on her. She felt the cold fur on Glaceon's back, instantly tense up as she revealed her small fangs towards the enemy. Paul made sure Moltres was no longer looking at him when he gave May and Glaceon a knowing look to which the two responded with a small nod.

"Now, Glaceon. Hail, full power!" May shouted.

"Everyone downstairs!" Paul followed, as the ice type fired a large blue orb into the sky that quickly assembled masses of dark clouds. The sudden chain of events broke the trance of Brock and Melody as the latter quickly hoped down from her platform and led them downstairs; Brock followed the brunette with May and Glaceon right behind him. Paul was about to run after the group when he saw Dawn still sitting, frozen in time as she stared at the legendary bird dodge the incoming hail falling on it.

"Dawn, c'mon we have to go." He tried grabbing onto her arm, but received little reaction from the blunette. "NOW!" he yelled, finally catching her attention and pulling her back to reality. The girl realized their situation and how Paul was holding onto her arm, but knew this was not the right time to think of what happened between them. She simply nodded and followed the boy down the stairs into the boat's lower level. Once inside, the group grabbed their pokémon and gathered to think of their next step.

"That was good quick thinking you two." Brock started. "It definitely distracted Moltres enough for us to regroup but now we have to figure out what to do. That hail won't last forever."

"I think the only way we stand a chance is with flying and water types. Any other types would have a difficult time battling a flying type without much room to move," Paul chimed in.

"Plus they could end up destroying the boat in the process," Melody added.

"Alright, so who can we count on?" Paul asked, as the group began to take inventory on the members of their team. Paul knew his Salamence could help greatly, but alone he would not stand a chance against Moltres. Dawn was finally beginning to regain herself as she tried her best to help the situation.

"I have my Empoleon that can help," Dawn spoke up, resulting in the shock of her friends who knew from previous journeys together that her Piplup had refused to evolve and was even given an Everstone to hold. "It's a long story. Now is not the time though," she snapped them back.

"I have my Blastoise, but unfortunately no other flying or water types."

"I don't have anyone that could currently help guys. I'm sorry." Brock answered, feeling guilty for the lack of help he could provide.

"That's fine Brock. Hopefully Blastoise, Empoleon and Salamence will be enough to take on Moltres." Paul reassured him. "Now let's head out. The hail is probably starting to end right about now.

Paul led the way upstairs onto the main deck where the hail certainly stopped but Moltres was gliding in place, watching as the group made their way back. The scorch marks around his body were gone and the fire type looked completely refreshed and back to normal.

"Moltres must have used Roost to restore some of its energy," Paul grunted.

"Why hasn't he attacked though?" May asked. "The hail clearly ended a couple minutes ago. There was nothing stopping him."

"What if we have it all wrong guys. Maybe Moltres isn't trying to attack us."

"Yeah. I think Dawn's right. I'm going to turn on the boat again so we can keep moving." Melody answered, before climbing back onto the platform and starting the boat's engine again.

The moment the engine started, Moltres let out a deafening screech that caused the group to instantly cover their ears. The legendary began to flap its strong wings, creating large gusts of wind that began to rock the boat.

"I think Moltres is trying to stop us from going on." Brock yelled through the harsh winds. "Its probably working with Lugia. If we want to keep going we need to stop him."

May nodded and along with Paul and Dawn, released their Pokémon. In a flash of light, Blastoise and Empoleon appeared in the water while Paul's Salamence steadied in the air, riding the currents coming from Moltres' gusts. Brock went to stand with Melody, while the others yelled out commands to stop the fire type.

"Blastoise use water gun on Moltres, stop that gust."

"Empoleon use Aqua Jet to swim behind Moltres and use water gun too!"

The large penguin pokémon sped forwards towards Moltres before diving underwater and past the fire type. Blastoise prepared its large cannons and waited for Empoleon to emerge from the other side to fire his attack. Moltres noticed the movement of the latter and flapped its wings in preparation. Once Empoleon resurfaced, the two water types fired a simultaneous water gun towards the fire type. Moltres gracefully flew higher into the air, evading the constant barrage of water thrown at him.

"Keep it up guys," May cheered on.

"Empoleon, full power!"

As the two water types were attacking, Salamence was surveying the field, much like her trainer, waiting for an opening to attack. She looked towards Paul who simply nodded and she began to glide higher in the air.

"Dawn, May I have an idea. Listen up," Paul called them over. After telling them his plan, the two girls nodded and called out towards their pokémon who stopped attacking to regain some strength. Moltres was carefully watching his opponents, never once firing an attack, almost as if he was unwilling to counter. May and Dawn called for their pokémon to regroup and told them about their plan before going on the offensive once more. The two large water types swam to opposite ends of Moltres before preparing their attack.

"Now, use Hydro Cannon!" the girls yelled in unison.

The two pokémon fired their strongest water attack towards the fiery bird but their aim slightly lowered before reaching their target. The two torrents of water met right underneath Moltres and connected with each other, creating a large horizontal column of water.

"Perfect! Glaceon you know what to do!" May told the ice type, who, for the most part was watching the battle intently before being called in to act in part of Paul's plan. Glaceon was charging behind May a powerful Ice Beam that she released once her trainer stepped out of the way. The Ice Beam hit the torrent of water and began to freeze the water from the middle outward. Moltres flew a few feet backwards away from the freezing water, clearly confused by the unorthodox attack. Right before the water was completely frozen, Salamence appeared from above, ready to launch a Dragon Pulse she was preparing.

"Fire Salamence!"

The dragon type fire the attack, but instead of aiming for Moltres, the attack hit the frozen column of water, breaking it into sharp frozen shards that flew in multiple directions. Blastoise and Empoleon dove underwater to avoid the attack while the group hit the floor to protect themselves. Moltres reacted quickly to the incoming attack and used Protect to shield itself from the incoming blast.

"Darn it! All that and it didn't even work," Melody growled in frustration.

"I wouldn't talk just yet," Dawn answered with a grin.

"Hyper Beam Salamence!"

While Moltres protected itself from the icy attack, Salamence quickly retreated high into the sky in order to fly past the fire type and appear over him. Before Moltres had anytime to react, Salamence fired a strong Hyper Beam heading straight towards the legendary bird. When Paul explained the plan to May and Dawn, he knew Moltres was too smart to be hit by a direct attack like that and suggested they stage a convincing diversion that would appear as an attack in order to hit the legendary's blind side.

"Yes! Direct hit," May yelled in victory.

Before the attack hit however, a large wave of lightning collided with the Hyper Beam, causing a large explosion and subsequently cancelling the attack. The explosion left a large cloud of smoke that surrounded the boat as well as impaired the vision of those on the boat.

"What… was… that about?" Dawn got out through coughs.

"I… don't… know" Paul tried to answer through coughs as well. "Salamence, clear… the smoke."

The dragon type flapped its powerful wings and cleared the smoke, only to reveal Moltres completely unharmed but slightly annoyed at the persistence of his opponents. As the smoke completely disappeared however, a loud screech echoed through the sky once more, revealing that the legendary fire bird was no longer alone in his fight. The group quickly regained their sight and gasped at the other pokémon flying next to Moltres. Flapping its wings to help circulate the flow of electricity in its body was the legendary bird of thunder, Zapdos.

"You have got to be kidding me…" May quietly said.

"Mel, you can talk all you want now," Dawn tried to nervously joke with the brunette.

"I think I'll pass," she answered, never once taking her gaze away from the two pokémon in front of them.

"Paul I really hope you have another plan up your sleeve." Brock told the boy.

"Well… I actually do," he started. "This one is simple though." The purple haired boy stood from where he was sitting and laid down on the boat's main floor, closing his eyes. "I'm ready for the end."

The rest of the group immediately sweat-dropped and pulled the boy from the ground. May turned to her friends with a determined look on her face, hoping to convey a message of confidence she seemed to currently be lacking.

"This isn't the time to give up guys," she started, pacing from side to side almost in a military general fashion. "We almost hit Moltres head on and if it weren't for Zapdos, we would have won. All we need to do is strategize to fight two enemies instead of one. I know we can do, our pokémon can do it. Ash is counting on us to go find him and I for one am not ready to give up."

"I am!" Paul interrupted, before receiving a smack across the back of the head by Dawn.

"Shhh, she's inspired right now. Don't ruin it." She whispered to the boy. May nervously laughed and continued.

"Now let's show these legendary chickens what we're made of!" She yelled, receiving a war cry from her friends who were feeling inspired and ready to fight to save their friend.

"You're right May! This is for Ash!" Brock followed with a yell of his own.

"For Ash!" May cried out.

"For Ash!" they all answered.

May was pleased with her rally of the troops and turned to face the two legendary birds who were awkwardly gliding in the air waiting for the girl to finish speaking to her friends. She gathered all the confidence she could muster and called out to the two.

"Listen here, we're on our way to save our friend and nothing you do will stop us from finding him. So, if you know what's best for you, you'll let us pass and we can avoid any further trouble. Right guys?" she called back at her friends.

"Right!" they yelled.

The two legendaries looked at each other with confused faces before shrugging and turning to face the humans, letting out a ear shattering shriek that filled the open waters of the ocean, the clear blue sky above them and ran a chill down May's spine that she fought to contain. She instinctively took a step back from the intimidating pokémon before reaching deep inside her for the courage she needed to confront the situation.

"That's all you have!" she yelled out. "We're not afraid of you! Right guys?"

 ***crickets***

"R-right guys?" she asked again, this time looking behind her in hopes of finding her army well intact and ready to fight.

Much to her annoyance, her "warriors" were curled into a fetal position and hiding behind Melody and the steering wheel of the boat. Brock and Paul were hiding behind the girls, eyes closed and arms wrapped around their legs. Dawn and Melody nervously hid behind the wheel, quickly popping upright when they saw May's death glare.

"R-right, Captain," they nervously said in unison.

Even Glaceon, May's trusty companion was deep inside Dawn's shirt, only briefly sticking her head out to assess the situation. Blastoise and Empoleon, along with the two legendary birds were watching the humans in embarrassment. Paul's Salamence took to his trainer's attitude and hid behind the others, hoping to make her self as small as possible trying hard not to be seen, however impossible it may have been, considering her massive size.

After a quick pep talk that involved several ear pulls as well as guilt trips, May regrouped her friends in order to prepare for the battle in front of them. They gathered and discussed possible situations and plans of attack they could use to get through the enemy, but found that the combined power of the two legendaries was more than their pokémon could handle, especially stranded in the middle of the ocean with little fighting space.

"Its strange that they haven't attacked us yet." Dawn pointed out.

"Dawn's right. This entire time, Moltres has been dodging without firing back. Even now they're simply floating there, watching us, almost as if they were tasked with simply watching over us." Brock concluded, sparking the same realization in the others.

"That's it! That's exactly what they're doing. They're making sure we don't interfere with whatever it is that's going on with Ash." Melody pointed out, finally connecting the dots.

"What does that even mean though," May questioned. "I wish we knew what their real intentions were. Or what they're planning to do with Ash." The last thought causing a small frown to form on the young brunette.

"Yeah. Its hard to make any assumptions about what's going on with the little information we have." Brock sighed.

"Well we can't just stand here doing nothing either," Melody angrily answered back, starting to become impatient at their own helplessness. She gathered her inner strength, stood up, and walked towards the edge of the boat, facing the intimidating flying pokémon.

"Where is Ash," she asked them. "I know you know who I'm talking about and I know you know where he is, so please… please just tell us." Her last words were almost pleading with the two pokémon. Melody could feel her emotions starting to surface and tried to control herself when she received no response. "Please, we're begging you." She asked them, getting on her knees and bowing her head.

Her friends were watching the entire scene, surprised to see the lengths to which Melody was willing to reach to make sure Ash was all right. May could feel a burning sensation start to build from within her but put it aside, understanding the pain and hopelessness the brunette was feeling. She knew, probably better than anyone there, how Melody was currently feeling and although she felt a sting of jealousy, the girl needed the support of her friends just as May did. Before May could react, Dawn got up and walked over to Melody, helping her back on her feet before facing the two legendary birds as well.

"They're obviously not going to tell us Mel. They don't care about anything else but themselves," the blunette said, her words filled with venom and content. She walked back towards her friends while keeping eye contact with Moltres. The fire type understood the sentiments emitted by the humans but knew the end game was far too important to be put in risk.

The group spent the next hour talking amongst themselves on a way around the legendary birds, before they saw the two pokémon preparing to attack. Moltres fired a flamethrower while Zapdos charged a powerful Thunder attack. Much to the surprise of those on the boat however, the attacks were not aimed towards them. The attacks flew above them and connected with a large green force field, engulfing it in the combined attack. Once the attack died down and the smoke cleared, the target of their attacks was revealed.

"Is that…" Dawn started to ask.

"Ho-Oh." Brock answered for her.

Flying over the group on the boat was a large phoenix-like pokémon, its feathers were a wide range of colors such as red, orange, yellow, and green. Along the top of its head was a golden crest that shone bright under the sunlight. The pokémon itself exuberated a powerful aura that was felt by the group in the deepest parts of their bodies. Ho-Oh wore an angry expression over its face and prepared a powerful Hyper Beam towards the two legendary flying types in front of it. The beam easily surpassed the one Paul's Salamence fired in terms of power and range, and was met with little resistance from the two legendaries as their Protect was quickly shattered and they took the blunt force of the attack head on; the colliding attack created a large explosion that could be heard from miles away.

After the smoke from the attack cleared away, both Zapdos and Moltres were gone, without a trace of where they could be. Everyone on the boat was in utter shock at the immense power of Ho-Oh and how easily he dispatched the two other legendaries. Before any of them could react enough to search of the former's whereabouts, Ho-Oh was gone as well, not a single trace of him anywhere.

"I can't believe what we just saw." Paul was the first to speak up after a wave of silence fell over the group. The only sound heard was that of the waves gently crashing against the silent boat. Before anyone else could react, May realized this was their chance to keep advancing.

"Melody, start the boat." She quickly told the brunette who nodded and started the engine. "I don't know what exactly just happened, but we have to take advantage of this."

With that, the gang once again made their way towards Shamouti Island, hoping to finally find answers that would help lead them to the whereabouts of their friend. After the events transpiring only moments ago, the group felt the tiredness and stress of the battle overcome them, as they took a small nap while they arrived. May's head slowly fell on Dawn's shoulder who's head was on Brock's shoulder, who's head was leaning on the side of the boat. Paul offered to take control of the boat so Melody could rest but the brunette refused and so the boy sat on the side across from his friends, watching as the island slowly came into view.

* * *

As Lugia turned and glided through the different canals of the underground cavern, Ash was beginning to wonder how exactly they would have made it out without his help. He shrugged at the thought of dying alone in the depths of the ocean with no one knowing where he was and tried to enjoy the view, or well, the empty void of darkness leading to a never-ending descent into despair and nothingness, or the ocean, for short.

"Hey Lugia, how deep in the ocean are we?" Ash asked the sea guardian, starting to grow bored. He felt they were swimming for ages and although he had no way of telling the time, he knew about an hour had passed since when they began.

" _The depth is not as relevant as you may believe. We are fairly deep but not anything crazy. What makes the cavern you were in difficult to reach is the labyrinth of underwater passages that make it difficult to navigate. On top of that, there are certain checkpoints I've protected with whirlpools to prevent intruders from reaching."_

"I see. And where exactly are we heading?" He asked again.

"Pikaaa…"

"I do not ask too many questions."

" _You will see very soon. We are almost arriving. Another couple of minutes and we should be there. It seems as though you will get your wish to see the sunlight. I hear it's a beautiful day."_ Lugia answered, slightly increasing their speed.

 _Man… what I wouldn't give to be back at the resort,_ Ash started to think. _Its hard to believe that this all started as an exciting vacation with friends. Now its another save the day mission. I wonder what everyone is up to. I hope they got my message… hopefully its enough to keep them out of harms way, but knowing them, it'll probably only spark their curiosity even more as to where I am. Well I guess that was part of the plan for writing the note anyway…"_

" _Do you forget that I am a psychic, young guardian?"_ Lugia asked, shifting slightly in order for Ash to see his face.

"I- uh… well you see, I mean…" Ash tried to think of an excuse before sighing in defeat. "I'm sorry Lugia, its just that… my friends are my strength, so you can see why I'd feel hesitant to do this without them."

" _I should be the one apologizing. I truly am sorry we ruined your vacation. I'm also sorry for involving you in problems that are not inertly your responsibility. I knew the implications of your favor before you thought of it yourself. Even then I allowed it, in hopes of atoning for the errors I've committed."_ Lugia answered apologetically.

Ash could feel the guilt emitting from Lugia's body through his physical contact with the Pokémon. Although he could not explain the reasoning behind this, he archived it in his head in hopes of coming back to it later. "Lugia there's no need for you to continue to beat yourself over what's happened. You did your best, what was right, and that's all that matters. We'll find a way through this, I promise." He flashed his trademark grin and turned to Pikachu. "Isn't that right buddy?"

"Pika chu," he agreed, raising his small fist in the air. Lugia simply smiled and swam faster.

" _Thank you, both of you. May I ask you a question young guardian?"_

"Uh… sure of course," Ash answered, slightly taken back by the request.

" _Who is this May girl that is so often on your mind?"_

Ash instantly flushed red, much to the confusion of Lugia and the amusement of Pikachu, who dropped from Ash's shoulder on to Lugia's back and rolled in laughter.

"Pika pi chu pika chu."

" _Hmm… too dense you say? Yes I can see what you mean by that,"_ Lugia answered, letting out a small chuckle of his own.

"Hey! What do you mean dense?"

"Pikachu pika"

"I do not like May, Pikachu! She's my best friend and I'm worried about her, just like the rest of my friends." The boy answered, hoping to convince himself rather than his traveling companions who were pressuring the issue.

" _Well, it does seem as though this girl is on your mind far more often than any of your other friends."_ Lugia added, before turning his attention forward. " _However, we can discuss this later. It seems we have arrived."_

Ash regained his composure enough to realize what Ash was talking about; about a hundred yards away there was a feint light that shone through the water. Lugia swam faster towards the light as he felt the excitement Ash was feeling grown tenfold. As they reached the opening above them, Lugia shot forward and emerged from the water into the cloudless blue sky. Ash could barely contain himself as the warm sun touched his skin and the gently breeze blew across his face. He felt as though they were underground for far too long and appreciated his surroundings on a whole other level.

After embracing the warm weather, Ash gazed around at the area surrounding them. A sudden flashback struck his mind involving Team Rocket's help reaching this particular island after the water between islands was frozen solid. He remembered scaling up a snowy mountain to reach the temple holding the last crystal ball of the prophecy years ago. For some reason, although the island was oddly familiar, there were parts of it that were different; for example, he did not remember there being as much green as there currently was. When he was last here, there was nothing but snow and ice in every direction you looked but now the island resembled a typical tropical island with the only sign of snow being a mountain not too far away from their current location.

"Lugia, is this Ice Island?" Ash asked, still unsure if his suspicions were correct. The water guardian landed in a small clearing in the middle of the woods where Ash hopped off and began to stretch in every physically possible direction. "Man, it feels good to be back on actual land."

"Chuu…" Pikachu agreed, stretching his body against the warm ground.

" _It is actually. I know it is not how you remember it but there was a bit of… remodeling so to say, by the owner."_ Lugia answered cryptically.

"What do you mean, remodeling?"

" _You can ask her yourself, we need to keep moving."_ Lugia answered, leaning low against the floor in order for Ash and Pikachu to climb on his back again. Ash was disappointed to be off the ground again but was thankful at least, to be out in the open.

Once they took off, Lugia flew in the direction of the mountain peak, the temperature steadily dropping, as they got closer to the peak. Ash was thankful his training on Mt Silver prepared him for the harsh weather of the mountain but Pikachu chose to hide inside Ash's shirt in order to stay warm.

The three flew for a couple of minutes longer before they finally reached their destination. They were at the summit of the mountain where Ash remembered retrieving the final orb of his quest many years ago. The temple was slightly different, but he attributed that to the need to build a new one after the fighting damaged the old one. Once at the top, Lugia landed and allowed for Ash and Pikachu to climb off. They walked around to the edge of the summit and took in the beautiful view of the surrounding island. The sun was shining directly over the landscape and provided the pair with a sense of relaxation that they had not felt in a while.

"Well buddy, we finally got our wish. Peace and relaxation," Ash chuckled, getting a nod from his companion. "I just wish everyone else was here with us." He added, slightly frowning.

"Pika chu."

"I know buddy. We'll see them soon though," he tried to cheer him up.

After a while longer, Ash, with Pikachu on his shoulder, headed back to where Lugia was. Once they reached the sea guardian, the two were shocked to see who he was laying next to. On Lugia's right was a large crystalized nest made completely out of ice. Ash realized that while he was too busy taking in the view of the island, he forgot to finish looking around the summit. Lying on the ice nest was Articuno, the legendary bird of ice, currently sizing up the trainer in curiosity. Before Ash could move further, the ice type stood from her nest and gently flew over to the pair. Pikachu immediately went into a defensive stance and sparked his cheeks but Articuno tilted her head slightly and chirped softly, causing Pikachu to relax his body and give the pokémon a questioning look.

"What's going on buddy?"

"Chu," Pikachu answered, pointing at the legendary bird who had lowered her head just enough to be within Ash's reach. The boy instinctively put out his hand over the ice type's head and watched in awe as she nuzzled into his hand, chirping in content. Lugia noticed the confusion on the pair's faces and smiled.

" _Back when you first visited the islands, Articuno never got the chance to thank you for saving her and the island. She is actually much more docile than the other two and took a liking for you."_ Lugia explained.

"Is that right Articuno?" Ash asked, feeling more comfortable in petting the legendary bird.

The ice type gave one last chirp before nodding and gracefully positioning herself back next to Lugia.

"Well it was no big deal," he smiled. "We really didn't do much anyway." He chuckled while rubbing the back of his head.

"Pi pika chu pika."

"Yeah, Pikachu was really the one who… hey wait a minute!"

Both Articuno and Lugia let out a light laugh at the exchange between the two until they suddenly grew serious and stared out towards the sky, immediately moving out of the way, with Articuno positioning herself in front of Ash and Pikachu.

From the sky two large figures came crashing hard against the mountain top, sliding across the floor and coming to a halt in front of the group present. After Lugia blew away the smoke, the group saw that the two figures who crashed were Zapdos and Moltres, both severely hurt and almost unconscious. Ash was taken completely by surprise at the sight of the two powerful legendaries before quickly running over to help them. He took out a couple of Oran berries from his backpack and asked Pikachu to quickly heat them with his electricity before proceeding to feed the two injured pokémon a couple of berries each. Lugia watched in approval at the kindness of the boy to immediately help out pokémon that at one point attacked him and were never his own.

"Lugia, what happened to them?" He asked, without removing his gaze from the two. They shifted slightly after eating the berries and slowly began to awaken again, surprised to find the human and his pokémon kneeling in front of them and responsible for their quick recovery. During this exchange, Lugia was speaking telepathically with the injured pokémon, uncovering the events that occurred prior to their crash landing.

Ash looked over to the guardian pokémon and watched as his face shifted in emotions, from shock to sorrow and finally to anger. Articuno stood close by, wondering along with Ash what was happening.

" _Ash your friends are coming for you,"_ he began, carefully eyeing the boy who seemed to perk up slightly before sitting back down.

"But?" he asked, expecting to hear the reason for Lugia's disapproval and restlessness.

" _Ho-Oh is watching over them, and hoping they lead him directly to you."_

* * *

 **There you have it everyone. Hope you all enjoyed and tune in next time!**

 **Quick little question: do you think the chapters are too long? I feel like they're a respectable length and see no problem so far, but I don't know what you all may think so please let me know via review or PM.**

 **Once again, thanks to you all and I hope you enjoyed.**

 **-HRS**


	10. Why Are You Running?

**Before anything, let me just apologize for taking so long to update. A lot has been going on with school, and I recently got really sick too. I hope this chapter is good enough to get me back in your good graces haha!**

 **Once again thanks to those who read, review, favorite, and follow. It means the world to me that others enjoy this as much as I do!**

 **Some interesting things come up in this chapter so hope you all enjoy.**

 **Onward to Ch10!**

* * *

The sun was beginning to set when the ship reached the docks of Shamouti Island. The rest of the ride there was spent resting and making casual conversation about their next step in finding their friend. Melody finished shutting off the engine and led the group towards the beach and on the way to her home where they would rest for the night before making the trip to meet with the collector. The brunette mentioned his home was nearby but through the woods and therefore suggested they make the journey the next morning.

"So, you mentioned you had family here on the island, Melody?" May asked.

"Y-yeah my parents and sister live here on the island." She nervously answered.

"Shouldn't we stop by and book a couple of rooms at the Pokémon Center then?" Brock asked before May followed up, realizing the same.

"No worries guys, I don't live with them anymore and my place is pretty roomy since it is only me," she assured them.

The group continued their walk to Melody's home, which was only a couple of minutes away from the shore. The brunette's home was isolated from the rest of the other houses on the main street and separated by a group of large trees on both sides. Overall, it was beautiful ivory colored home with a small garden growing near the entrance of the gate. Once inside, the group was in awe of the spacious home; the house was classical in design with tons of dark wooden furniture. The living room consisted of a large chocolate sofa with two arm chairs on adjacent sides, all facing a fire place with a large television hung over it. There was a small glass table with a lamp on each side of the large sofa and classical paintings of all types hung along the walls of the first floor.

"Wow Mel, you actually live here?" Dawn asked, walking over to the kitchen next to the living room. There was a large marble counter with several chairs, which she assumed was where she gathered with friends to eat.

"Yeah, how could you even afford a place like this?" Brock added, still slightly surprised at the brunette's independence.

"Just lots of saving up I guess," she answered while letting off a nervous chuckle. "There are two guest bedrooms with a bed each. I figured the girls could sleep in my room while you each took one of the guest rooms."

Dawn and May looked at each other and then back at Melody before nodding in agreement. Brock took time to prepare a meal for the group and their pokémon and after they talked for a bit, they went upstairs to prepare for bed. They expected the following day to be a challenge and decided it was best to save as much energy as possible for whatever came their way. The boys used the downstairs bathroom to change and brush, while the girls used the upstairs bathroom. Melody's room had its own bathroom and she wanted to shower before heading to sleep. Once they were done, Brock and Paul knocked on Melody's door and said goodnight, heading back to their rooms to sleep.

Melody's room was the largest of the three and along with her personal bathroom it also came with a small balcony that oversaw the main street and faraway mountains. There was one large king size bed that the girls decided was roomy enough for the three of them to sleep in.

"Its still hard to believe that you live here," May pointed out.

"Yeah, how exactly did that happen?" Dawn added. Melody was in the middle of preparing the bed when she looked at the two interrogating her and saw them staring at her.

"Just a lot of hard work I guess," she quickly answered. "I've been working for a while now. But we should probably go back to sleep, tomorrow should be a busy day."

The girls nodded and jumped onto the spacious bed. Dawn was sleeping on the far left followed by Melody and then May to her right. Before the girls could drift into sleep, the realization hit.

"Hey guys…"

"Yeah Dawn?" May asked.

"Who's turning off the light…"

A small snore could be heard coming from the brunette lying in the middle, who conveniently fell asleep rather quickly.

"Well guess its between you and me, Dawn." May sighed, but heard no response coming from the girl across from her.

"Mmm…sleepy… g'night May."

"Great."

May rose up from the bed and quickly walked over to the light, turning it off before crawling back into bed, hoping not to wake the two girls.

"Thanks May," Melody and Dawn said in unison, slightly giggling.

* * *

Dawn stirred in her sleep as a small breeze brushed against her bare leg. With her eyes shut, she felt around for the blanket before a stronger breeze sent a shiver through her entire body, suddenly waking her. She cursed under her breath before opening an eye and realizing the cause for the sudden drop in temperature. In front of her was May, completely bundled up in the blanket the trio was _supposed_ to be sharing. The blunette sat up and attempted to pull the blanket back from the brunette but was surprised to learn the girl's grip was stronger than she thought.

"Oh come on May, no need to be a hog," Dawn pleaded with her as she continued to free the blanket from the girl's grip.

"Mmm, Ash five more minutes," the brunette mumbled back, causing an annoyed Dawn to hold back a laugh.

"Really May? Can't even go a night's sleep without him on your mind," Dawn teased before yawning and stretching her arms out. "Well now that you spooked my sleep, might as well start getting ready," she said aloud before turning to see the clock on the night table and quietly sighing as she read the time. "Its only 5:30. Now what?" she questioned, looking around the room before coming to the realization they were one member short on the bed. "Wait, I wonder where Melody went off to?"

She grabbed a pair of sweatpants from her bad and put them on before walking into the bathroom and washing up her face. After she was finished, she walked out and saw that the balcony door was slightly open, explaining the sudden breeze she felt waking her up moments earlier. She stepped outside onto the small balcony before turning and finding Melody sitting on the floor looking out as the sun was beginning to shine over the mountains.

"Mel, what are you doing here?"

The young blunette's voice startled the girl and broke her from the trance she found herself in before she regained herself and softly smiled up at the girl.

"Oh, hey Dawn. I didn't think anyone would be awake yet." She said before turning back to face the sunrise. "Its beautiful, isn't it?"

Dawn sat next to the girl, taking in a breath of fresh air and the warmth of the morning sun. "It sure is." She answered.

A brief moment of silence passed before Dawn turned back to face Melody, a look of worry still present on her face, despite the beautiful scenery in front of them.

"You didn't really sleep much, did you?" She asked.

Melody was slightly surprised the girl caught on so fast before shaking her head. "How did you know?"

"Well the small black circles forming under your eyes helped," she teased, causing Melody to blush in embarrassment and turn away. "No but really, something's going on isn't there?" Dawn continued, this time in a more serious tone. "What don't you want to tell us, Melody? You've been acting a little strange, almost as if you're not being completely honest with us."

"I wish I could just tell you. I wish I could tell all of you, but it's just something I'm not ready to talk about yet. I just-"

Before she could continue, Dawn placed a hand on the girls shoulder and looked her directly in the eyes.

"We're your friends Mel. I know we only just met but we've all grown close to you and we're willing to help you get through any problem you have." She paused to think of the right words to say next. "If Ash were here, he would be telling you exactly the same thing, with that big goofy grin of his." She let out a laugh as she finished.

A stray tear slid down the brunette's cheek before she giggled as well. "You're right Dawn. I'll tell you, but please, you have to promise me you won't tell anyone or say anything until I think the time is right. Promise?"

Dawn, slightly taken back by the brunette's insistence on keeping the conversation between the two of them, nodded in understanding nonetheless.

"Alright, so the thing is…."

* * *

May felt the sunshine creep in through the curtains and cursed herself once again for not properly closing them before falling into sleep. Before she pulled the cover over her face, she remembered she did actually close the curtains and quickly hopped off the bed and went to grab her poke balls.

"Guys I think someone is here!" she quietly told the empty room. After she heard no reply she turned to face the bed, suddenly realizing her two sleeping companions were nowhere to be seen. After a warm breeze flew in through the balcony, she turned her attention outside, carefully walking through the doors and into the sunlight.

"What are you two doing out here this early?" she asked as she saw Melody and Dawn sitting on the balcony's floor, facing out towards the horizon. Melody looked slightly worried, while Dawn was completely dazed out, her mouth slightly slack. The blunette looked as if hundreds of thoughts were racing through her head all at once and barely flinched at the sound of May's voice. It took a couple of seconds before Melody turned to face May and spoke up.

"We both couldn't really sleep so we sat here to watch the sunrise." She tried to genuinely smile at the brunette. Dawn turned to face May and smiled as well, nodding in agreement.

May gave them a quizzical look, as Dawn's mind was clearly somewhere else. She wondered what exactly happened before she woke up and found them but decided to get ready and worry about it later.

"Alright, I'll go get ready. You should probably go see if the boys are awake Dawn." She said before leaving the girls.

Dawn was starting to get up before Melody grabbed the girl's wrist.

"Please Dawn. You promised," the brunette pleaded with her.

"I know." She quietly answered before dropping her gaze on the floor. "Let's go get ready."

With that, the two went to grab their things. Dawn went to check on Brock and Paul while Melody got ready in her room and May showered in the room's personal bathroom; both Brock and Paul were beginning to wake up when Dawn came in to check on them. They grabbed their things to begin getting ready while Dawn used the shower downstairs.

After about an hour, everyone was finished with their morning routines and met at the kitchen where Brock was preparing breakfast for the group. They ate their food quickly and quietly as there was an uncomfortable silence floating above them. May was the first to notice this, as she was already suspicious from Dawn and Melody's behavior that morning. She decided to speak to Dawn about it when the two had a moment alone. For now, she figured it was best to break the tension she felt between them.

"So, is it going to be easy to reach this Lawrence guy?" She asked.

Melody finished swallowing a piece of pancake before answering the brunette.

"Well it shouldn't be. There aren't many people who know where he lives, but after what happened. My family thought it was best to keep a close eye on him, so we know where he's living."

"Do you think we can stop by the Pokémon Center before heading out? I'd like to switch out a couple of pokémon and call home." Paul asked.

"Yeah I don't see why not. Is that okay with everyone else?" Melody asked the group.

They all nodded in agreement and continued to finish their food before heading to grab their things and setting off to the collector's home. After standing firm in her decision, Melody volunteered to clean up the kitchen in gratitude for Brock cooking for them and suggested they grab everything they need now, as she was unsure whether they would come back home before this was all over.

May took advantage of this time to question Dawn about her strange behavior since this morning.

"Dawn is everything alright? You've been acting really strange since this morning."

"H-huh? Oh yeah May, I've just been worried about Ash, that's all." She answered back, instantly feeling guilty for lying to her best friend.

"You sure its just that? What were you and Melody talking about this morning?"

Dawn suddenly froze; worried that May might've heard their conversation, she tried to brush it off. "Nothing really, she was just telling me a little more about Shamouti and her life here, that's all." She answered. _I don't know how I'll keep this up. I have to be more discreet so May doesn't keep worrying like this._

May was still skeptical of the blunette but decided not to press the subject any further. She gave Dawn a quick nod before turning to head downstairs. She turned to leave the room, bumping into a surprised Melody at the door.

Noticing the look on Dawn's face, Melody looked at May and tried to look at the brunette. Because May's gaze was on the floor, she avoided eye contact with the girl as she walked by.

"Hey May, you okay?" she tried to ask before she got out of hearing range.

"Fine," she answered back, taking the stairs and walking into the living room.

Thankfully, the boys were still grabbing their things in their room and there was no one downstairs. May could feel her eyes start to water and released her Glaceon, the one she knew would always be there to help and support her. She was starting to feel a sting of jealousy in her heart, wondering whether the two girls were trying to hide something from her. _First it was Ash and now Dawn too? Is Melody trying to take away everyone I care about?_

Glaceon realized the look on her trainers face and licked her hand, trying to grab her attention before jumping and curling up on her lap.

"Glace?"

"I don't know Glaceon. I want to trust Dawn, but the two of them have been acting so strange since this morning…" she trailed off, petting the ice type on her lap as her thoughts overcame her.

"On top of that, we're no closer to finding Ash and its just all overwhelming." May was beginning to break down. Losing Ash was one thing but now she felt alone even amongst her friends. "I feel like everyone is sort of in their own world and its only making me feel worse. I know if he was here, we would be having a great time, enjoying our vacation." She could feel the tears start to form in her eyes. "Why did you have to go Ash… I'm not like you, I don't know if I can do this without you. No matter the challenge, you always have a way of making it through these situations even when the odds are stacked against you" Now the tears were rolling as memories of the boy flooded her mind. The picture standing out the most was his ever-present grin when facing a challenge. "I'm trying my best here, but what if… what if its just not enough?" Glaceon could only watch as her companion poured her emotions out hoping to find comfort in letting it all out.

Before Glaceon had any time to think of what to say to the brunette, a door upstairs closed shut and startled the girl. She quickly cleaned up the tears along her face and tried to perk up hoping not to show any signs of her breakdown. May heard someone coming down the stairs and turned in that direction waiting to see whom it was.

"Guess we're the first ones ready then?"

"Yeah Paul, are they almost done?" May asked.

"Beats me, I came down as soon as I was done."

May was relieved Paul was the first one down. She was thankful Paul was not as perceptive as her other friends.

"Are you okay? You look terrible."

Or so she thought. "Gee, thanks Paul." She answered sarcastically. "I'm fine. Just had something in my eye."

"Alright if you say so. I'm heading outside for a walk. I'll be back in a few." He said before stepping out into the sun.

 _Typical boy_ , May though to herself. _Just as clueless as Ash. Although I shouldn't be surprised with them being rivals and all._ She suddenly let out a small giggle, remembering how dense Ash was when it came to these things, before letting out a small sigh. "Oh Ash…"

* * *

Slowly sitting up, he felt the disorientation immediately hit him. He was dazed and was having a hard time hearing from his left ear. His memory was also slightly hazy, barely remembering the details before crashing hard on the ground. The last thing he vividly recalled was catching his faithful electric type in the air before holding on tight and bracing himself for the impact. His memory of this caused him to quickly get up, only to be brought to a knee as a sharp pain ran through his left leg all the way through his calf. He turned to look at the cause of the pain and was taken back at the blood dripping onto the floor coming from a large gash that ran down his calf. The boy slowly mustered the strength to regain his footing, holding the majority of his body weight on his right leg.

"Pika…chu" he called out, still feeling dizzy from the impact. He could feel his head spinning as he tried to look around. The bright sun, which at one point was all he longed for, was now hurting his vision. He slowly walked over to a nearby tree to lean against while he gathered himself and his surroundings. He took a deep breath and tried to concentrate; he lifted his arm and placed a hand on his head before sighing. After a brief moment, his eyes began to shine a light blue and a small blue light slowly formed over his temple and started pulsating. _I've really only done this once before so hopefully I'm doing it right._ He thought. A few minutes passed before he dropped his hand and sighed once more, this time exhausted from the energy he used. Thankfully, his migraine was gone and he could finally concentrate on what happened. _Pikachu… where are you buddy._

He once again tried standing up, this time feeling less pain the first time, but nonetheless winced when he tried placing any weight on his left leg. _This place… it looks so familiar._ With the details of what happened still a little blurry, the boy thought it was best to familiarize himself with his location. He was near the ocean, lying against one of the palm trees that filled the sandy beach around him. The boy vaguely recognized the beach and tried turning to face away from the water, hoping to remember from where exactly he knew this place. Once he did though, he immediately recognized the boardwalk as well as the island he landed on.

"Shamouti Island?"

* * *

"Alright well if we're all set, I think we should start heading to the Pokémon Center then. The sooner we leave the sooner we'll be on our way." Brock told the group sitting in the living room.

Unsurprisingly, Dawn was the last of the group to finish getting ready. Much to the relief of May, the blunette seemed to be back to her normal perky self once she reached downstairs, even giving her signature pose when asked what took so long.

"This kind of perfection doesn't just come naturally," she joked, while twirling her hair.

* * *

 _Flashback_

"Dawn, what's wrong with May? She looked really upset when she left." Melody asked the girl, slightly at unease after watching the brunette leave the room in a hurry.

"She wanted to know what we were talking about," Dawn started, unable to lift her gaze from the floor. "I didn't tell her anything so don't worry."

"I'm sorry."

Dawn was surprised when she felt the brunette grab her hands in her own and bow her head.

"This is all my fault. I should have never said anything. Now you and May is angry with you and it's all my fault." The brunette could feel the tears start to flow down her cheek before Dawn stood up.

"Daijoubu Mel. May isn't one to hold a grudge and as long as I act normal, she'll be fine too. She's too pure and caring to stay mad at someone." Dawn smiled at the brunette who was clearing the tears from her eyes. This time, the smile was genuine and heartfelt. "We need to worry about telling Ash though, you can't keep this to yourself forever Melody. You might lose him that way."

The brunette nodded, understanding that what Dawn was saying was true; she needed to find a moment with Ash. In order to do that though, they needed to find him first, and for that, everyone needed to focus their time and energy on that.

"Right, let's get going then." Melody answered back with a grin.

* * *

The tension from earlier in the day was gradually lifted from the group as they made their way to the Pokémon Center; making small talk about their travels and the different plans they thought of to save Ash. Once there, Paul went to change his pokémon while the rest of the group called their families to let them know they were okay. Fortunately, there was barely a difference between the Pokémon Center from Shamouti and the one from Cleopatra Island so their families would still think they were on their vacation. After Paul mentioned it, May and Dawn decided to switch their team in order to bring a more battle-tested group just in case.

After speaking to Professor Oak, May was walking towards the rest of the group when she heard someone call for her and turned around.

"May!"

"Gary? That was fast." She answered the brown haired boy walking towards them.

"Yeah, well I would've been here sooner but I needed to make it seem like nothing was wrong. Gramps is pretty perceptive. How is everyone? Heard any news on Ash?"

The group told Gary the information they had so far and the events on the boat with the legendary birds as well as Ho-Oh. They explained their plans to speak to Lawrence in hopes of gaining any knowledge on how to find Lugia who they figured would be with Ash. The boy was listening intently as his friends explained, only interrupting once to ask about where they were when Ho-Oh arrived.

"Well that sure is strange."

"What do you mean exactly?" Dawn questioned.

"Its strange to see Ho-Oh in this part of the world. Usually, he stays away from people, only showing himself in very special cases. It's weird to hear that he, not only flew over you but helped you reach the island as well."

"Yeah, I thought Ho-Oh disappeared in search of a trainer with a pure and noble heart?" Brock added.

"Well that's what the legend says, but it all just seems a bit strange to me. Let's head out though, we're wasting time just standing around."

After Gary made a quick call to the lab to inform the professor of his safe arrival, they were ready to leave. May was lost in thought, remembering what Gary was saying earlier about Ho-Oh. _Why would Ho-Oh be here during a time like this? Is he looking after Ash too? Or is it simply a coincidence._ The thinking was beginning to give May a headache, and she unconsciously walked ahead of her friends and through the doors of the Pokémon Center. The bright light of the sun caused the girl to squint and pick up her gaze, only to suddenly stop dead in her tracks. For a small moment in time, the world around her froze.

May was dreaming, in her head this was a dream. She could swear the world around her stopped and her heart momentarily stopped as silence filled the air. The noises of the waves crashing against the beach were suddenly silent. The birds chirping in the trees above suddenly disappeared and the sounds of tourists laughing and talking were completely turned off like the volume on a television. In front of May was a boy, battered and beaten, collapsed in front of the Pokémon Center, a small puddle of blood forming around the boy's leg.

She could no longer hold in the flood of emotions seeping through the pores of her body. The girl broke into a frantic run, her ice type, who experienced similar sensations to her trainer, following the girl's lead. Once closer to the boy, she saw the full extent of his injuries, heavy scratches and bruises running along his arms and face. It was as if the boy survived a brutal battle with the bare minimum.

"Ash! Ash wake up! Please wake up." She pleaded with the boy as she attempted to turn the boy over. It was only a few moments later that May heard the group behind her cry out.

"Ash!" They yelled in unison before running over to help the brunette.

"May what happened? Is he…" Brock tried to start, his voice trembling.

"I don't know. I don't know Brock. I walked outside and found him like this. I don't… I can't-"

She was suddenly cut off as Gary put a hand on her shoulder. "Just try and calm down May. Guys help me turn him over; gently."

Brock and Paul helped the young Pokémon researcher turn the boy over. May was in shock, watching the bruised boy in front of her be lifted and turned around, never once reacting to the movement. Dawn and Melody were already in tears next to the brunette, each one with an arm around the girl. Once the boys turned Ash over, they saw he was carrying a beaten Pikachu in his limp arms, never once letting go of him even after being turned over.

Brock bent over to place his ear on the boy's chest where he held it for a couple of moments before a small wave of relief ran through his face.

"There's still a heartbeat, albeit a feint one. We need to get him inside ASAP!"

Dawn and Melody jumped up immediately and ran into the Pokémon Center, yelling for help as they entered the doors. After a few moments, Nurse Joy and Chansey ran outside with a stretcher, placing Ash on it with the help of the three boys present. Through the entire sequence, May was unable to move. She was still on her knees, holding her chest tightly. Glaceon was quietly purring and licking her trainer's hand, hoping to get a reaction from the brunette. The ice type considered sending a weak Icy Wind to break her from her shock but before she did, Dawn walked over to the girl and tried shaking her into reality.

"May, let's go with Ash inside. We can't stay out here right now."

The girl was unresponsive to the blunette's voice, but with Melody's help, the two managed to lift her on her feet and walk with her back into the Pokémon Center. Once inside, the group was told to sit in the lobby and wait for further instructions, as they would be informed with any updates they had on Ash and Pikachu.

May was starting to snap back into reality, briefly answering her friends who were trying to take her mind off the situation. Dawn and Melody stayed close to her and tried assuring her that everything was going to be all right, but were having a hard time doing so because of their own doubts and worry. Gary, Brock, and Paul were sitting across from them and quietly staring at the doors in hopes of further news. After what seemed like hours, Nurse Joy walked into the lobby, causing the group of friends to immediately get on their feet.

"He's going to be alright, he just needs a lot of rest." Nurse Joy started. "His injuries were pretty severe, with a couple of fractured ribs and the large gash on his left leg being the worst of them all. We also think he may have a concussion, but will have to wait for him to wake up in order to fully evaluate it." She took a moment for the information to sink in with the group before continuing. "Pikachu is already healing pretty well, it seems was the one who Ash took most of the damage from the two and he'll probably be waking up shortly."

With the amount of tears and sobs heard coming from the group, anyone just joining them would assume they were told the worst. The girls were crying in relief while the boys tried their best to keep their manly faces up. Brock let out a stray tear while Paul and Gary smiled softly in relief.

"Ash is honestly really lucky to be alive, considering the amount of blood he lost and the force he probably exerted to get this far. If you want, you can go see him, but I will have to advise against you all going in at onc-"

Before she could even finish, the large group ran past her and through the doors in search of the boy's room. Nurse Joy let out a small sigh and smiled before chasing after them.

"Hey! No running in here kids!"

* * *

The boy was running along the beach trying to catch up to her. Every time he got close enough to the girl, she suddenly appeared several steps out of his reach. This went on for a couple of minutes before he stopped in his tracks. When the girl realized he was no longer chasing her, she stopped as well and turned to face the boy, a small grin present on her face. The sunlight was obscuring his view of her face, but he knew the girl.

"Why are you running?" he called out to her.

"Why are you?" she answered back, before turning and walking away again.

* * *

It was already dark by the time he started to shift in the hospital bed. While trying to open his eyes, the headache he felt earlier immediately returned but to a lesser degree. He felt a sharp pain in his rib cage when he tried to move and decided to stay in place and simply open his eyes slightly. Once opened, he immediately was surprised to find that he was lying on a bed. He was currently receiving an IV fluid and was hooked to various machines next to the bed. Because it was dark, the boy could barely take in his surroundings correctly.

 _How did I get here? Am I dead? I must be dead. There's no way I'm_ _ **not**_ _dead. Not after a blast like that…_ His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of light snoring. With everything happening, he had not noticed it when he woke up, but now it was clear and getting louder. He slowly sat up and realized the snoring was not coming from one individual in particular but rather a large group of them. A small smile stretched across his face as his eyes made their way along the room starting from the left. Melody and Dawn were sleeping to his left, sitting on a chair while their heads rested on their arms, which were positioned on the hospital bed. Paul was sleeping on a chair to the far left near the door, while Gary was slumped against the wall directly in front of Ash; both snoring louder than the rest of the group. Brock was asleep on a chair opposite from Paul but positioned closer to the bed. His eyes finally reached the one person who was sleeping closest to him.

The brunette's chair was placed as close to the bed as possible. Her head was resting on her arms similar to how Dawn and Melody were; however, her head was much closer to Ash then the others. He turned slightly to face her and could see the moonlight causing a small shine to form on her cheek. From the looks of it, he could tell she was crying and the shine was the reflection of those dried tears. He slowly lifted his arm, ignoring the sharp pain he felt on his side and cupped the girl's cheek in his hand. The sudden gesture caused the brunette to unconsciously shift in her sleep.

"A… Ash." She quietly spoke, not fully aware of what was happening.

"Shh… We'll talk later May. Just rest up."

* * *

 **Finally, our heroes are reunited!**

 **Now what could Melody and Dawn be talking about?**

 **What happened to Ash and Pikachu?**

 **What's with people running?**

 **Find out next time! On Dragonball... jk lol.**

 **Stay tuned. Next chapter should be up this week!**

 **-HRS**


	11. Decisions

**Firstly, I apologize for taking so long to upload.**

 **Honestly I was stuffed with work and school, but I won't make excuses. I'm just glad the semester is over and I can write more freely and consistently.**

 **I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's honestly one of my favorite so far, as a lot is explained in it.**

 **Onward to Ch11!**

* * *

"Two days!" the raven-haired boy gasped.

"As surprising as it may sound Ash, you were in pretty bad shape when we found you," Brock answered the boy, a slight sense of sarcasm evident in his answer.

Ash could barely believe what he was hearing. Approximately two days ago, he collapsed at the entrance of the Pokémon Center, Pikachu in arm, barely able to stand the pain pulsing through the entirety of his body. According to his friends, well in particular May, who was enthusiastically recounting all the details of their journey since the boy was kidnapped, he was on the verge of death. They took him into the center and tended to his wounds almost immediately. He remembered briefly waking up to find his friends surrounding his bed, with May particularly close to him. After that, the memories ended.

Now he was sitting up on his hospital bed, multiple contraptions still strapped around his body, which connected to machines around the bed, beeping and monitoring his vitals. Once Ash woke up, he was greeted with a pile of hugs and tears, mostly from the three girls present, but he could've sworn he heard a sob coming from one of the guys as well. After wincing in pain from the sudden physical contact, Nurse Joy came in to yell at the group for the noise as well as the group hug. Once the group regained themselves, Dawn and Melody headed to the cafeteria to grab the boy something to eat, seeing as how he barely had eaten anything in the last couple of days.

"Ash, I honestly can't even begin to explain how scared you had us… how scared you had me," the brunette started. She could feel the tears start to form and tried to choke back a sob. The last two days, May, along with the rest of their friends, had refused to leave Ash's side. She was especially meticulous about making sure Ash was confortable, as she constantly fixed his pillow and sleeping position. The past two nights she also got into the habit of sleeping with one of her hands holding on to the boy's. Normally, Dawn would take the opportunity to tease the girl about this little detail, but given the conditions, she chose to keep it to herself.

"I'm sorry May, I can only imagine how worried you were." He said while wiping a stray tear along the girl's cheek. "That goes for the rest of you as well. I can't thank you guys enough for everything you all did to try and save me," he finished as he looked around the room to the rest of his friends.

Just then, the remaining two girls entered the room with two giant plates of food, filled to the top with an assortment of fruits, muffins, bacon, eggs, and anything else they could find for the boy and his "healthy" appetite.

"You owe us big time for this one Ash," Dawn started. "I think I speak for everyone here when I say that there's definitely been enough crying for one trip," she said, earning a chuckle from the rest of the group, even the wincing trainer.

Before Ash was about to begin eating, he remembered an important detail about his arrival and silently cursed himself for being irresponsible.

"Where's Pikachu? He was in pretty bad condition while we made our way here, and I remember him passing out just before I did."

"He's doing fine. They're finishing up some tests to make sure he's perfectly fine before releasing him back to you," Gary answered first. "And before you ask, he already ate."

"Thanks Gary. By the way, thanks for making the trip over here. You didn't have to go through the trouble," Ash responded in between bites of food.

"Oh please Ashy boy, it was no big deal." Gary waved it off. "But I'm sure I'm not the only one waiting to hear what exactly happened, how you managed to get here, and what exactly caused this whole mess." The future Pokémon professor asked, gazing over the rest of his friends who looked on intently in agreement.

Once the topic came up, Ash immediately dropped his food while a serious look completely washed over the relaxed one he previously had on. He began to feel a sudden rage and helplessness remembering the details of what happened before he wound up on Shamouti Island. Before he started recounting the story, he asked for Nurse Joy to bring Pikachu back into the room. He wanted his companion to be present to correct him and fill in the gaps where Ash couldn't remember much. After bringing him back into the room and following a heartfelt reunion between the two, Ash took a deep breath and decided to go over the details.

"Where to begin…"

* * *

 _Flashback_

"Lugia we have to do something then. If Ho-Oh is after my friends, I won't just sit here doing nothing."

" _You're right, we should plan a course of attack and split up so that we can cover more ground. Unfortunately, Zapdos and Moltres are in no condition to fly."_ The guardian pokémon answered, watching intently over his fallen comrades. The Oran berries were able to regenerate a small portion of their strength, but they were still knocked out cold.

"Well then you guys stay here, Pikachu and I will go look for our friends and meet you back here," the boy suggested. "We all know they're mostly after me. If I separate from you guys, I can buy you time to recuperate. They won't see it coming"

" _No, Ash. We cannot risk you wandering by yourself when there are four vicious pokémon waiting to ambush you. I'm afraid we can't leave you on your own until this is all over."_

"I can take care of myself, though. I appreciate the concern Lugia, but Zapdos and Moltres aren't the only ones needing time to recuperate. You've been fighting and exerting yourself since you picked me up on the island. You need to rest too."

During their interaction, Pikachu and Articuno were staring intently at the pair. They knew that both were right to a certain degree. There needed to be a middle ground they could agree upon and they were running out of time to reach it. If Zapdos and Moltres had been attacked, they might have been followed here, and it was only a matter of time before they would have visitors. Articuno decided to step forward between the pair and offer a third solution.

" _Well… that might actually work. But are you sure Articuno?"_ Lugia asked the majestic ice-type who nodded without any hesitation.

"What is it?" Ash asked.

" _Articuno has offered to accompany you in your journey to find your friends. She will try and buy us time to regain our strength, and then we will rendezvous with you"_

"Really? You'd be willing to do that for us?" he asked, now turning his gaze at the legendary bird.

She slightly nodded and repeated the earlier gesture, lowering her head for Ash to gently run his hand through her feathers.

"Well then I guess it's settled, we'll leave as soon as you're ready Articuno-"

Just then, a large explosion erupted near the entrance of the trail leading down the mountain. The shockwave was enough to push Ash off his feet and against a nearby icy rock. The rest of the pokemon attempted to stand their ground but were having trouble doing so. From the smoke caused by the large blast emerged three large dog-like figures. Each taking a place in a semi circle surrounding the group, who were now backed towards the edge of the mountain's summit.

Without hesitation, Articuno released a powerful Ice Beam that instantly chilled the air around them, toward the Raikou in front of him. Entei was quick to cut off the attack with a Flamethrower of his own, which immediately melted the snow surrounding them. Articuno flew high into the air but was immediately hit with a Water Pulse by the Suicune positioned between the other two legendary dogs.

"Pikachu we need to help Articuno," Ash called out to his pokémon, who quickly positioned himself in the midst of the battle, his body crackling with electricity. Pikachu was quickly annoyed by the fact that the three in front of them were the cause of trouble his friends were experiencing. He felt vent up anger start to pour out in the form of electricity and could care less whether he faced 3 legendary pokémon or 300. He would make his presence felt.

"Quick Pikachu, Thunderbolt, full power on Suicune!"

The electricity surged through him and instantly released towards the water-type who was momentarily stunned from the amount of power generated by such a small pokémon. Raikou tried to counter the attack but was caught mid attack by a powerful Psychic attack that hurled him towards the nearest group of trees. Suicune was hit with the full force behind Pikachu's attack and roared in pain, while Articuno was flying above a frustrated Entei, easily dodging his Flamethrower and pelting him with a combination of Ice Beam, Ice Shard, and the occasional Water Pulse.

" _You will leave this place… NOW!"_ Lugia's voice boomed through the clearing, his eyes glowing in a powerful blue light. For the slightest moment, Ash felt as if they were winning. Their attacks were hitting their target and slowly tiring their opposition. Of course they also began to feel the fatigue of the ongoing battle, but it was a pleasant sight to see them holding their own against the three legendary dogs, especially considering that one of their own was severely weakened. But then, reality hit, and a voice as powerful and authoritative as Lugia's boomed from the sky above.

" _Quite the contrary, I think we are only getting started."_ The voice said from up above. From the clouds Ho-Oh was beginning to descent into the battle, its rainbow feathers vibrant with color and the expression on his face difficult to read. It looked around at the opposition before cocking his head back and charging a powerful Hyper Beam.

"Guys, that doesn't look too good!" I shouted over the roars of the battlefield. Articuno, feeling the power radiating from Ho-Oh, suddenly lost focus and was grazed by Entei's Flamethrower, causing her to rapidly descend towards the rest of us. Lugia flew closer to where Pikachu and I were positioned and waited for Articuno to land before giving the ice-type a knowing look. She simply nodded and stared towards the attack heading their way.

"Hello! Does anyone want to fill _me_ in on the plan? We would like to survive just as much as the next savior of the world." Ash tried grabbing their attention but to no avail. _Great, looks like we're in their hands now_ , he thought, reading himself for whatever came next. Pikachu gathered in front of his trainer, ready to attack as well. Ho-Oh fired the attack directly towards the group, and for a moment, Ash thought they were all goners. Right as the attack was about to hit, Lugia and Articuno flapped their wings with such a great amount of force, they all scattered around the summit in different directions. Ash quickly grabbed onto Pikachu and flew towards the nearest tree in astounding speed. Before he made contact however, Lugia used Psychic to stop the impact.

Once they gently touched the ground, the attack hit an empty mark on the ground. Ash felt as though the entire mountain was beginning to crack under the powerful shockwaves rushing through the air. The trainer quickly tucked his head and wrapped himself around his pokémon, hoping to protect them both from the debris. After the dust started to settle, what was once a beautifully green and icy mountaintop was now a dusty wasteland, with little to no life left. Several trees were bent over, while others were completely pulled from their roots.

Coughing through the excess smoke, Ash made sure Pikachu was all right before searching for the rest of his comrades. The silent atmosphere was deceitful, as the trainer knew the battle was far from over. He scanned the nearby area in hopes of finding Lugia and Articuno, or even Zapdos and Moltres, who he began to worry about considering their state before the attack.

"Can you sense them anywhere Pikachu?"

"Pikachu, pikapi," the electric-type nodded, before running off towards the left. Ash quickly followed until they saw a feint green glow of energy nearby. As they got closer they saw the cause of the glow, finding Lugia using Protect to guard Moltres while Articuno did the same for Zapdos. He quickly ran over to regroup with them when he heard a loud screech that broke the silence.

" _Quick, Articuno, you must go. Take advantage of the dust and take them away from here. I will try to buy you enough time to get away."_

"NO! Lugia we can't just leave you by yourself; let us fight with you. You're in no shape to take them on by yourself." Ash protested.

"Pika chu!"

"Pikachu is right, we need to get through this together."

" _I appreciate your honor and compassion, young guardian. But this is the only way."_

"No, its not Lugia, my Pokémon can help us get through this. Maybe if we all focus our attacks on-" Before Ash could continue to protest, a powerful Fire Blast quickly closed in on them from above. "What, where's the recharge period with its attacks!"

" _Articuno, NOW!_ " the Sea Guardian ordered.

Articuno was visibly upset with the decision but she obeyed anyway. She swooped over and grabbed the two before they could further protest. Unfortunately, the legendary dogs were quicker and unleashed a trio of elemental attacks that combined into one single beam heading their direction and fast. Lugia was occupied handling the Fire Blast with a Hydro Pump of his own and was unable to help them this time. Before Ash and company were blasted away, a combined Thunderbolt and Flamethrower met the attack head on. Looking behind them, Ash saw an exhausted Zapdos and Moltres use their last remaining strength to buy the three some time to escape. A small tear trickled its way down Ash's cheek as he saw the pokémon risking their lives for his safety.

Unfortunately, the combined attacks met far too close to the three trying to escape and the powerful impact forcibly blew them down the mountaintop. Ash was barely able to stay awake as he continuously slammed through the snow-covered trees, breaking thick branches along the way. He used the last remaining bit of energy to catch a barely conscious Pikachu nearby and tucked him into his own body before the two tumbled down the mountain, blacking out.

* * *

The room grew completely quiet with the exception of the sobs and sniffles coming from the group of friends listening intently to the events that transpired a couple of days ago. A wide range of emotions was flowing through the group. Part of the emotion was rooted in the suffering and sacrifice of the pokémon who fought on that hill to protect Ash and his friends. A whole other set of emotions was caused by the thought of Ash briefly escaping death after facing off against an array of legendary attacks. The atmosphere became heavy with helplessness, sadness, and tints of anger that flowed through the group of friends. Finally, Ash broke the silence after he unleashed a power blow on the metallic pole holding up the IV fluid and shouting in frustration.

"Its all my fault. If only I had called out my other pokémon from the very beginning, we could have won. They would all be all right… I just… I wasn't thinking." The boy cried out, blinking away a couple of stray tears. For the first time, Ash experienced what it felt to cry from being unable to contain his frustration. "I let them down. I let them all down."

May was the first to try and console the distraught trainer. She wiped away some tears of her own and placed a hand on his shoulder. She felt his body trembling and instantly felt sorry for everything the boy was forced to live through. "Ash, its not your fault. You did everything you could."

"May's right Ash," Gary tried to assure him. "If you called anyone else out, Articuno probably wouldn't have been able to get you all out of there."

Ash looked up and saw the worried faces of his friends around him. He knew what they were saying was in part true and tried to relax his tense body. For a moment, he felt an emotional wave strike him caused from the moral support he could feel radiating form his friends. Dawn, Paul, Brock, Gary, Melody, and May: they were all willing to do anything and everything to help, which his why the next part of information was going to be the hardest to deliver. He looked at Pikachu who gave him a knowing look and nodded.

"Thank you everyone, I really do appreciate everything you're doing for me," he addressed his friends.

"That's what friends are for, Ash." Dawn chimed in. "Now we just have to make sure their sacrifice wasn't in vain. We need to go help them."

"I don't know Dawn," Brock started. "I think that's exactly what Ho-Oh wants, to lure Ash into their trap. He knows he would never be able to abandon them. He's counting on you to go after them Ash." Paul and Gary nodded in agreement but, along with Brock, were feeling conflicted about the idea of leaving Lugia and the others.

"Things will be different this time guys. You have us this time Ash," May said while gently squeezing his shoulder. "Together we can help them out and watch each others back."

"May's right." Melody spoke for the first time in a couple of hours. "We can't leave those pokémon in the hands of those monsters. Not after everything they did for us."

The boys were ready to argue their point again when Ash placed a hand in the air as if to say, "enough." He wasn't use to taking charge of the group, but his experiences on Ice Island had emotionally, as well as physically, changed him.

"Like I said, I appreciate the help, the support, and the kind words." He took a moment to look at Pikachu who gave him a look of confidence before taking a deep breathe and continuing, "But, this is something we have to do on our own." Before the group around him began to shout in protest he raised a hand once more. "Let me finish before you guys all attack me."

"Listen, you guys weren't there. You weren't there to see the face of pure hatred and anger that these pokémon had. When I say to you that they were ready to wipe out the entire mountain to accomplish their goal, we kid you not. They were willing to do anything and everything possible to follow through with their vengeful vendetta." He took a moment to let his words sink in before continuing. "I finally understand what Lugia meant by putting you all in danger. We can't risk any of you, and I know that Ho-Oh knows how protective I am."

"Before you guys go on about how you can all take care of yourselves, just understand that it's not about your own capacities. This has more to do about how much we care and love each one of you. I'm the one that's part of this stupid prophecy, I'm the one they want, and we won't be able to fully concentrate or relax knowing any of you can be put in harms way. So from the bottom of our heart, we ask that you all respect our decision and let us go through with this."

There was a brief moment of silence that felt like an eternity. Without even realizing it, while Ash was talking, May had grabbed his hand and held it between both of hers. He was only able to realize this because she suddenly let go, allowing his hand to fall. He turned to face her directly, and for the slight moment they held eye contact, he could see the worry and pain evident in her teary eyes, right before she stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Ash breathed in a heavy sigh before placing his face in his hands in frustration and impotence.

Thankfully, Dawn spoke up and broke the uncomfortable silence hovering the room after what they just heard and saw. "I'll go check up on her. You mind coming with?" she asked the other brunette in the room.

Melody simply nodded and followed after May.

"Ash, how can you even suggest something like this?" Brock asked, unmistakably annoyed with the raven-haired boy. "You should know we would be stronger together. This is a suicide mission. There's no way you're taking on four legendary pokémon on your own."

"I won't be alone, Brock. I'll have my pokémon with me, and I believe in what they can do." Ash dryly answered, still thinking about May and her reaction to all of this. Pikachu noticed this and nudged on his hand trying to get his attention.

"Pika chu pika."

"I know buddy, I'll go talk to her." He answered back.

"Can you explain how you'll even manage to get out of the Pokémon Center? You can barely sit up without help and I'm sure your ribs and leg haven't fully healed." Paul pointed out.

"I'm a fast healer guys," he lied. His friends clearly had a hard time believing him, and Ash figured there was no use in hiding this from them either. "Alright, well to be honest, I plan on healing fairly quickly."

"Um, what. Are you all of a sudden a pokémon, Ashy?" Gary sarcastically asked.

"It'll probably be easier if I showed you. I just wish everyone were here at the same time so I didn't have to explain twice." He answered back before closing his eyes.

After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and revealed their sudden change in color. Gone was the deep auburn of his eyes, replaced by a bright and shining celeste. His friends were taken back by the sudden change but were given little time to react as Ash clasped his hands together and focused, releasing a light blue aura. The blue light radiating from Ash's body slowly filled the room and his friends were shocked to see how the scrapes covering his body were slowly healing. After a few minutes, the light diminished and Ash's eyes returned to normal.

"Ahhh, I feel much better," he said aloud, stretching his muscles and hoping off the bed. Pikachu began to giggle, and once the boy realized his friends gaping mouths, he decided he should probably start explaining. "Alright so, it all began when we first arrived in Rota earlier in the year…"

* * *

"Hey May, wait up!" Dawn called out, as she and Melody caught up to the brunette. She was sitting on a bench outside of the Pokémon Center, staring out as the sun was near its apex in the sky.

"May, we know you're feeling upset, but you shouldn't just isolate yourself. It's only going to make you feel worse." Melody tried to console the brunette, who just sighed and turned to face her friends.

"How can he honestly think that running off on his own, after he BARELY came back the first time, is the answer? Ugh I can't take how stubborn he is," she shouted, while getting back on her feet. "He can't just keep playing hero and expect everything to be okay!"

Dawn and Melody were quietly letting May vent out her frustrations in hopes that it would make her calm down and feel better. Both of them understood May's position on Ash's decision because they felt the same way. They care too much for the boy to not worry about his well being after seeing the condition they found him in the first time. In fact, the more Melody heard May speak, the angrier she got with Ash as well. May was right, he would need their help and when it came to stubbornness, Melody was closely behind Ash. They needed to be there for him.

Before the girls could continue consoling May, however, Ash walked out of the Pokémon Center, still dressed in his hospital robe and completely shocking the girls in front of him.

"Ash what in the world do you think your doing out of bed? Dawn scolded him.

The boy sheepishly grinned with his hands up in the air in defense. "Hey, just calm down guys. Trust me, I'm feeling a lot better."

They were hesitant to believe him but the evidence was hard to argue with. The scrapes along his arm and face were no longer there, almost as if they magically disappeared. He was no longer walking with a limp and the gash on his left leg was almost completely healed. They couldn't understand how, but the boy looked in pristine health condition.

"Now Dawn, Mel, do you mind giving me a moment alone with May?" he politely asked the two. The two were surprised by the boy's sudden interest in speaking to the brunette alone, but hesitantly obliged anyway, heading back into the Pokémon Center in hopes of getting some answers from her friends inside.

As soon as the girls went inside, May huffed and turned her back on Ash, obviously still upset at him.

"Aw come on May, please don't be mad at me." He pleaded with her, grabbing her shoulder and attempting to turn her around to face him. Once he did though, he faced a scene that was equal in scary and heartbreaking. May was visibly upset, but had several tears flowing down her cheek. Before he bothered saying anything else, he pulled the brunette in for an emotional embrace. The moment she buried her face in his chest, she began to sob uncontrollably, unable to contain the pent up anger and sadness flowing through her.

"Why are you so stubborn," she let out the muffled words into his chest.

"I thought that was something you liked about me," he teased.

"Be quiet, you big jerk," she tried to snap back at him. May was starting to realize it was extremely difficult to stay mad at him, even if she thought he was being completely unreasonable.

"Sit with me, May." He let go of her and instantly regretted it. The warm feeling he was recently experiencing when being near the brunette once again vanished after the embrace. They both sat on the bench May was on moments before and stared out into the nearby ocean. "Trust in me. Trust that I'll be okay."

"Its not about trust, Ash!" she snapped at him. "Its about you being wrong. We. Can. Help. Why don't you get that?"

The boy seemed to be thinking deeply about what May was saying, but before he could answer, they were abruptly interrupted.

"No way…" Ash quietly got out.

Landing in front of the pair was a battered and bruised Articuno, ready to collapse in exhaustion. Before she did however, Ash was quick to run over and catch the legendary.

"May quick, call Nurse Joy, we need some help here," Ash called out.

After a few moments, the medical staff once again rushed outside to help take in the injured ice-type.

"My goodness, how many more emergency units do I have to call in for help today." Nurse Joy scolded the kids before running back inside.

* * *

After a couple of hours, Nurse Joy met the group outside in the waiting room and, although she was still angry with Ash for leaving his room without permission, informed them that Articuno was already recuperating rather quickly. She guessed the pokémon would be back to normal in another hour or two. For the rest of the afternoon, the group quietly waited for the nurse to meet them again. Ash took advantage of this time to explain to the three girls his journey in Rota, the graduation ceremony into an official Aura Guardian, and the heal pulse he learned from his mentor that helped him regain his strength back earlier in the day. Under any other circumstances, his friends would bombard the boy with questions and demand an explanation for him hiding this from them. Today however, things were different, and their priorities were elsewhere.

While Ash went over to the video call to call his mother and also switch out his team, Dawn took this moment to speak to Melody of an important matter the brunette continued to avoid.

"You need to tell him Mel. It's now or never, especially if he really will be leaving on his own soon." Dawn told her.

"I'm scared, Dawn. I really am. I don't know what to say, or how to say it… I feel like now is the worst possible time to drop that on him."

"I'm sure he would much rather know now rather then not know at all. If anything, you should at least start by telling the rest of the group. They're your friends too, you know."

While Melody was contemplating what Dawn was saying, Ash made his way back to the group, just in time to meet Nurse Joy.

"Well, I guess they aren't called legendary pokémon for no reason," Nurse Joy said. As the group listened, they noticed a portion of her red hair was completely frozen and tried their best to stifle a laugh. "She obviously wasn't happy being kept in captivity here and quickly fought her way out the back as soon as she regained consciousness."

"I'm sorry Nurse Joy," Ash apologized while rubbing the back of his head. "I'll see if I can find her."

"Looks like there's no need Ash," Brock said, pointing towards the Pokémon Center doors.

Outside the center was Articuno, looking as good as ever and seemingly waiting for something. Ash understood right away and turned to his friends. "Well I guess that's my ride out of here. I promise I'll be back soon guys." He took a look at each one of his friends, smiling and giving them a slight nod. Once he reached May, however, he walked over to the brunette and pulled her into another hug. "Like I said, trust in me." He whispered into his bestfriend's ear. Suddenly becoming self-conscious of everyone staring at them, they quickly released, a minor blush present on their faces.

"Alright Pikachu, time to go."

The electric-type was currently saying his goodbye to Glaceon who lay next to May's legs. She was in the middle of a lecture in which she specifically warned him of coming back safe from harm and keeping Ash out of trouble. She was definitely worried for the two of them, but her nature as a pokémon allowed her to understand more readily the importance of one's duties and missions. Pikachu nodded once more and jumped onto his trainer's shoulder.

Dawn gave Melody a quick look and then discreetly pointed at Ash. The brunette, however, was frozen in place, unable to find the courage to do what she had to do. It was only after the group watched as Ash and Pikachu climbed on Articuno's back that something inside her snapped. The three flew off, and Melody couldn't help but sob in frustration. She was angry with herself for not having the courage to confess her secret and now she realized she might not get the chance. The rest of her friends noticed this and tried to comfort her. They were sure her reaction was simply in response to Ash leaving, but only Dawn knew the truth.

May was suddenly feeling a tinge of anger and jealousy that she later was ashamed for. She thought this all but proved that Melody felt for Ash something much deeper than a simple friendship, and for some reason, this triggered a wave of anger and pain in her heart that she still couldn't explain. She was teetering with her own feelings for Ash, and having another person in the mix was frustrating her.

"Mel, its okay. He'll be okay." Brock tried to reassure her.

"You'll get to tell him, I know he'll be back." Dawn agreed.

"Tell him what?" May asked. She felt slightly guilty for worrying about this while Ash was off risking his life, but part of her knew that she wouldn't rest until she knew the truth. "What is it that you two are keeping from us?"

By this point, the group huddled around Melody was watching intently and wondering what May was talking about. Dawn, however, looked at the crying brunette and gave her a sympathetic look.

"Tell them Mel. Like I said, we're your friends and we'll only try and help."

Suddenly May felt completely betrayed. She couldn't believe that after everything that Dawn and May had been through, that the former would simply side with Melody in an attempt to help her deal with Ash. Her anger was soon replaced with utter shock, followed by a large wave of guilt and sympathy for the crying brunette.

"Ash is my brother," she said.

* * *

 **Well there you have it, the secrets out. This in no way means that things will get easier from here on out though.**

 **If anything, they may only get harder. Ash's decision was a big one, what did you think?**

 **As always, thank you to all who read and follow the story. I'd appreciate any feedback you have for the story, so review but please be careful with spoilers!**

 **Chapter 12 will be up later this week. I'll say Friday/Saturday.**

 **Hope you enjoyed,**

 **-HRS**


	12. Family Matters

**Well, as promised, here's Ch 12.  
**

 **I hope you guys enjoy. Not much to say other than, thank you to those who read, review, favorite, etc! And thank you for not spoiling!**

 **More on this chapter at the end, so stick around!**

 **Onward to Ch12!**

* * *

 _Flashback_

Taking a deep sigh, the brunette decided now was as a good a time as ever to let someone know of the burden she was quietly trying to keep to herself.

"Alright, so the thing is, I recently learned that my entire life has been a lie, Dawn." She took a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing. "The people I believed to be my family are actually not. I was given away by my real parents when I was only a few months old."

Dawn could only stare in shock as the brunette explained, trying desperately to look for words to say. "Mel… I-I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." She answered her, staring intently at the orange orb slowly rising in the horizon. "In a way, I was relieved. I always felt out of place with my family and with the traditions of the island. I knew I wasn't born with the same passion and enthusiasm as the others."

The blunette listened intently to the girl as she spoke and noticed a small smirk growing on the girl's face. "But how-"

"I'm sure you're wondering how exactly this all connects to our current situation. I guess I should probably start from the beginning." The brunette interrupted, before continuing with the story.

"One day while cleaning up the basement, I was going through some of the old boxes we kept for storage. I remember arguing with my older sister-" She paused once more as Dawn noticed she said the last word with a bit of uncertainty. "We argued on who would clean the basement that day and in hindsight, I'm grateful it was me," the brunette gave a half-hearted chuckled. "Anyway, as I was looking through some of the stuff, I stumbled upon a really old picture hidden inside the pages of an old book."

The brunette suddenly got up and went back inside her room. Before Dawn was able to react, the girl was back, holding a small rectangular box in her hand. The wooden box seemed old and delicate but was decorated nicely along the edges with flower carvings and a thin golden lace that wrapped the box shut. Unwinding the golden lace, the brunette took out a small vintage photograph about the size of the girl's palm. Handing it to her, Dawn was careful not to tear the delicate photo and eyed it thoroughly. In the picture was a beautiful young woman with long brown hair, sitting on the chair outside a familiar home. The woman in the photograph held two small babies, one in each of her arms. Melody gave the girl a few moments to examine the picture before continuing.

"When I first saw the picture I was curious to see who exactly the people in it were. I found it strange that we would have a random picture of a group of strangers, especially since the setting looked nothing like Shamouti. When I gave my older sister the picture, she was completely shocked, simply calling for her mom and dad."

Dawn noticed that the brunette was having a hard time using the correct terms to describe her "family" and placed a hand on her shoulder for reassurance. "I don't know what exactly happened Mel, but they raised you into the girl you are now, they're still your family."

The girl gave her friend a small smile and continued. "Well long story short, they basically confessed that I was originally left on their doorstep roughly sixteen years ago. When they met me, there wasn't any information about my family or who exactly left me there. The only thing they found that night was that photograph in your hand. It was tucked under my blankets and placed under my hand. After they explained the situation, I had a nervous breakdown. Its not easy learning your entire life has been a lie. All I could think about was that somewhere in the world there was a pair of parents who wanted nothing to do with me. They left me with someone else as if I was just a thing they could throw away."

A small tear trickled down the brunette's cheek as she remembered the wave of emotions that instantly flooded through her the night she learned of her origins. Dawn was starting to catch a few stray tears of her own make their way down her face. There was no way she could feel what Melody felt, but that didn't stop her emotions from telling her to have sympathy for the girl.

"The next couple of days were rough. I kept my distance from my family on Shamouti, hoping to process all the information I was given at a gradual pace; unfortunately, that wasn't the case, though. After a couple of days, I arrived home to a mysterious package with no information on where it came from. The only thing it had was my name and the house address. I opened it to find a small note, a single key, a couple stacks of money, and another photograph." The brunette opened her wooden box and took out another photograph, this one not as delicate and small as the first. Dawn could tell from the looks of it that it was much more modern then the one she still held in her hand. Melody took a moment to look at the picture, the array of emotions flicking through her serious expression.

"The note in the box was from my father… my real father. It was brief, but he basically apologized for being absent in my life and also how he always kept watch of me from afar, which would explain the sudden timing of the package. I wondered how he knew I had learned the truth and figured he was somehow still watching over me. He also explained that the key was of a house nearby that I could call my own. He apparently purchased it and had it fixed to accommodate me and whomever else I chose."

Dawn could feel that the most important item from that box was in the brunette's hand. Something told her that the photograph revealed more than she could ever imagine and wondered if the girl would even allow her to see it. The way Melody held onto the photo, one could tell the girl was extremely protective and careful with it.

"He also gave me this." She said, taking one last look at the photograph before handing it to Dawn.

The content of the picture was enough to drop the girl's jaw. In the picture she saw a middle-aged woman with tied up brown hair wearing a light pink blouse and knee length white skirt. The woman was smiling and hugging a young boy next to her. The boy was wearing a plain white t-shirt with a black vest over it, some black jeans, and navy blue trainers. His face was slightly tan and soft, a reflection of the innocent and free-spirited nature of the boy. He had deep auburn eyes that smiled nearly as much as his trademark-grin and while he wasn't physically imposing, he was lean and of athletic build. Perched on his shoulder was his faithful traveling companion and best friend, Pikachu. Behind the group was a large banner with the words "Happy Birthday Ash and Pikachu", the last two words scribbled towards the bottom corner.

"This… this is… WHAT!" the blunette nearly shouted.

"Shhh," Melody quickly placed a hand over the surprised girl's mouth, hoping not to wake up their sleeping friend. "Please Dawn, you promised not to say anything. I'm not ready for anyone to know yet."

After regaining her composure as best she could, Dawn took a few moments to let the information sink in. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Melody, you need to tell him. This is crazy, I can't believe I have a new sister!" She tried to sound as upbeat as possible without raising her voice too much.

Melody was completely stunned. She understood and was prepared for the shocking reaction from Dawn and any of her other friends, but she wasn't expecting the girl to be as accepting and happy as she seemed to be.

"When are you going to tell him? Do you want me to help? We can pull him aside while you…" She was about to continue before realizing their current predicament. "Now I understand why you reacted the way you did after we lost Ash. He's your brother, how could you not." She seemed to finally understand the implication of those words. "Wait, that picture was just taken a couple of days ago… that means you-"

"I just found out a couple of days ago… Yeah I did. I was actually on my way to the docks to catch the next ferry to Kanto. I was hoping to catch him before his next big adventure, but you all beat me to it. The rest is history."

Suddenly the mood quickly dropped as Dawn remembered the distraught feeling of hopelessness Melody felt on the beach. Heck, they all felt terrible, but for Melody, it was on a whole other level.

Before either of them could say anything else though, they heard a sudden tumble inside. Hearing May call out for them, the girls shared a silent nod between them, understanding that the content of their conversation was not to be shared just yet.

"What are you two doing out here this early?"

* * *

After explaining the conversation to the rest of her friends, Melody felt her burden slightly lift. She felt better knowing that her friends knew her secret and she was no longer forced to keep it from them. With everything happening, she was grateful at least for that much. Her friends however, were dumbfounded and completely silent after hearing everything the brunette had to say.

Even Dawn, who already heard Melody's story, was uncharacteristically quiet, letting everyone around her digest the information. She took a moment to look at each of the faces of her friends and saw a cycle of emotions flicking through them, from shocked to confused, from excited to sympathetic. Gary's face was probably the most difficult to read, and with good reason. He knew Ash since they were children; learning that his closest friend had a long lost sister was definitely something that would take time getting used to.

May was at a loss for words. Because of her sudden outburst, the group learned the secret Melody tried hard to protect. For better or worse, the secret was out, and the brunette was unsure how to react; she only took quick glances at Melody, studying her face and features. After learning the truth, it was almost comical how obvious it was. The similarities between Melody and Delia were undeniably there: the same dark brown hair, the warm, but playful smile, and even the facial structure. May went as far as to think that the brunette looked like a younger version of Ash's mom. The only glaring difference was in the eyes; Melody's deep auburn eyes were almost mirror reflections of Ash's. In fact, because of Ash's own similarities to his mother, Melody was also quite similar to the boy.

 _Could… could they be twins?_ May was beginning to think. Before she could further engulf herself in her thoughts, Brock rose up from his seat, still visibly shaken from the bomb suddenly dropped on them.

"I think I speak for everyone here when I say we appreciate your trust in us Melody, especially with telling us something as important as what you just did," the older friend started as he walked over to the brunette. "On top of that, if there's any way we can help, just know that you can count on us."

Melody felt a weight suddenly lift off her shoulders as Brock placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She was no longer alone in dealing with this, and that was enough to give her the energy for what came next. Brock seemingly knew what the brunette was thinking, as he proceeded to turn and face the rest of his friends.

"This is just another of the reasons why we have to help Ash. We all know how stubborn he can be; we just have to be twice as bad. Honestly, even that's won't be enough to get through to him," he paused to think for a moment. His friends let out a chuckle at the thought of Ash's stubbornness that helped lift their spirits.

"I think we should separate into groups." Dawn told them. "One group can follow Ash's lead, while a second group can wait in the back in support."

"That's actually not a bad idea," Gary spoke up. "When Ash and the first group attack, the second group can hit them when they least expect it. We're gonna' need all the firepower we can get if we're going to face off against four legendary Pokémon."

"Alright, so if no one has any objections, we only have to decide the groups. Obvious reasoning aside, Melody should be in the first group since she knows the area the best." Dawn offered. "I think I should go too since I'm the only one with a PokéNav that can call the second team when we find Ash."

"You're a lot smarter than you look, Dawn." Gary playfully teased, earning a couple laughs from the others.

"Shut it, Oak." She snapped back.

"Well if you two are going, I think I should stay behind in group two since I can offer offensive support" Paul chimed in. "But the last one in your group should also have a strong offense. May?" He asked the brunette who was still keeping to herself.

At the sound of her name, her head quickly snapped up. "Y-yeah sure. Team one, got it." She answered.

It was obvious that May's head was clearly elsewhere at the moment, probably still taking in everything that was happening in such a short span of time. Dawn made a note to talk to her friend later when they were on their way to the island.

"Alright, so Melody, May and I will be leaving first, with the rest of you following in support."

After they discussed what the course of action was once they found Ash, the girls said their goodbyes and left to find Melody's boat and sail over to Ice Island. Seizing the opportunity, Paul sat on the couch across from Gary and Brock where Dawn was previously sitting.

"If you guys don't mind, I'm feeling a little fatigued. I'm gonna' ask for a room here at the center and take a quick nap. Just make sure to come get me when we have to leave."

"Yeah sure Paul, we'll come and wake you when we're leaving." Brock assured, and with that, Paul walked over to Nurse Joy.

* * *

The girls were on their way to the docks with an uncomfortable silence amongst them. Dawn was almost certain she knew why but was hoping things would be settled soon. The awkward silence was becoming almost unbearable for the coordinator. The entire walk to the docks consisted of Dawn whistling her favorite tunes while the other two members of her team simply trudged on in annoyance at the unpleasant sound. The blunette enjoyed herself though, as she figured if there was enough discomfort between the three, one of the two would eventually speak up to shut her up.

Unfortunately, her plan backfired, as both girls were more interested in holding their silence than in keeping their hearing. Once they reached the deck, Melody set up the sails and prepared for them to leave. Dawn figured now was a good time to find out what was troubling May as so much to leave her speechless the entire way here. She almost looked uncomfortable to be going, which wasn't like her at all, especially considering the stakes. If they failed, there was a big chance Ash wouldn't be able to make it back to them.

"Care to fill me in on what's going on with you?"

"I-I can't believe I behaved like that. I was such a child, Dawn." May looked to make sure Melody was still out of earshot to continue. "This whole time she's been dealing with her own problem and all I could think about was me and my issues. Part of me is angry with myself for not being able to control my emotions. It's just that, there's nothing I wouldn't give to see Ash happy, and I was beginning to think he might just be happier without me." She tried to hold back the tears as best as she could in order to get her point across. "I just… I don't know what to say Dawn. To her, to him, to myself. I'm confused and now feeling guilty for pushing Melody to talk when she didn't have to"

Before she could go on, Dawn figured it was a good moment to stop the brunette before she continued blaming herself. "Listen May, I can't explain to you what you're feeling because I just don't know. What I do know though, is that you and Melody need each other right now, for more reasons than one. I think it would do you guys well to lean on each other rather than ignore one another. And as your best friend and future sister in law, I command you to go make things right!" She scolded the brunette who instantly turned a dark shade of red at her friend's last comment.

"Dawn!" She playfully smacked her friend's arm before joining in the laughter. "Thank you though." Leaving the blunette laughing at the reaction she got from her friend, May decided to talk to Melody and clear the air.

The girl was finishing preparations on the boat when she heard someone approaching and turned to find May nervously standing in front of her. "Oh, hey May. We'll be ready to leave soon, don't worry."

"No, that's not it Mel. I actually only wanted to talk to you for a minute." Waiting for Melody to sit on the small bench, May figured apologizing was the best way to start things. Before she could though, the other brunette spoke first.

"I approve."

"Listen Mel, I want to apolog-… wait what? What do you mean you approve?"

"Yeah, I approve you and Ash. I know how you feel about him, so there's no need to hide it anymore, especially not from yourself." The brunette answered rather flatly.

Realizing what Melody was talking about, May was feeling the blush coming on. "W-what do you mean? Ash and I… we're only… he's just…" Noticing the creeping smile making its way onto Melody's face, May could only sigh in defeat. "Fine. But that still doesn't mean anything. With everything happening, I feel like we're farther apart then ever… he probably doesn't feel the same way." As she said it, she found her mood beginning to drop at the sudden distance between the two. It was hard to believe that only a couple of nights ago, the two were talking and laughing while staring at the stars together.

"I may not have spent as much time with Ash as you have May, but I know him, don't ask me how, cause I just feel like I do. Trust me when I tell you, that boy's crazy about you. He may not completely realize it yet, but he is. Its obvious in the way he talks to you, treats you, and even looks at you. And like I said, I definitely approve. I've gotten to know you enough to see just how much you care about, not only him, but the people closest to you."

May was suddenly at a loss for words even worse then earlier in the Pokémon Center. She wasn't expecting Melody to answer in the way she did.

"Thank you Mel, honestly I'm lucky to have a friend like you. More importantly, Ash is lucky to have a sister like you."

After watching the exchange between the two, Dawn figured the mood would finally begin to lift. Ever since Ash was kidnapped the first time, the atmosphere among them was gloomy, even after they got Ash back for a while. The fact that he was beyond bruised was enough to quickly put a damper on the celebrations. On top of that, Dawn was struggling with her personal emotions. Even though the circumstances allowed her mind to be occupied, a broken heart wasn't something you simply wake up forgetting. She was trying her best to keep a positive attitude for the sake of her friends, but it was beginning to wear on her too. She put the thought behind her, though, and went to meet her two friends who were preparing to set sail.

"Well now that that's finally settled. What do you guys say we go get our boy back," the blunette told the two as she wrapped her arm around the two girls' necks.

And with that, the trio of friends began their journey into the unexpected. They could only hope they would reach their friend in time. Having left hours ago, the trio assumed the boy was already in the midst of battle and in need of some help.

* * *

"What do you mean we're lost!" the boy moaned in displeasure.

"Pika pi chu pikapi."

"Well, maybe if _someone_ hadn't rushed us out of there, I wouldn't have made us stop for a bathroom break in the middle of the ocean and we would've have found them before they hid away." He answered back, much to the displeasure of the ice-type he was riding.

"Articuno."

"Well yeah, I know it's not your fault girl, but I thought you knew this place like the back of your hand?" He asked the legendary.

Articuno simply tilted her head sideways and blasted the trainer in the face with an Icy Wind.

"O-o-o-ok-k-kay, I-I-m-m- s-s-s-s-orry" Ash knew he wasn't going to win a war of words with his two companions, so he figured it was easier to help find a solution. "Just set us down near the shore line, we'll think of our next plan from here.

After circling the island nearly half a dozen times, they were still searching for the entrance to the cavern that led to the other pokémon. On the way there, Articuno was explaining that once she left Ash and Pikachu, she tried returning to help the others but found them being moved in large cages inside a small cavern. The last bit of information was slightly odd to Ash, considering that pokémon aren't usually able to put other pokémon cages, let alone transport them from one place to another against their will. They figured it was best to search for the cavern on foot since it would probably be easier to spot than if they were flying several hundred feet away.

"It feels pretty good being back on land," he said aloud, stretching his muscles as far as he could. "So much for a vacation of fun and relaxation," he muttered under his breath. The more he thought about his circumstance, the harder it was to deny that he was getting tired of his involvement in these dangerous situations. Part of the problem was the boy's innate desire to help those around him; his unconditional love for pokémon was part of the reason why he always accepted this missions. Although looking back, if it weren't for those experiences, he probably wouldn't have met half the people he knows now.

"I wonder if I made the right decision," the boy wondered. "I was the one who said my friends were my strength, but how could I live with myself knowing something happened to them because of me?"

Pikachu and Articuno were listening closely to the boy, although the latter knew little of what the boy was talking about. She knew he was distressed by the body language and facial expressions, but that was it. Pikachu on the other hand knew the thoughts crossing the boy's mind because in the end, he took part in the decision to leave their friends behind. He also wondered if they made the correct decision but knew he needed to encourage his trainer. The moment he added to the doubt already in Ash's mind, he would only begin to question himself more.

"Pika pi chu," he answered him.

"Yeah, I guess you're right buddy. We need to hurry back to them." Grabbing a couple of poke balls from his belt, he threw them into the air, releasing members of his team. Standing in front of him were his Arcanine, Sceptile, and Greninja. He figured he could use the speed to cover as much ground as possible.

"Alright everyone, according to Articuno, we're looking for a small cavern entrance along one of the icy hills. We need to be as stealthy as possible, so keep a look out and return back as soon as you find something. If you happen to find the enemy, quickly retreat. Do not engage. I'm looking at you Sceptile." He gave his gras-type a quick glare, knowing he was quick to engage in battles he thought were a challenge for him. The gecko pokémon simply nodded in understanding and looked back towards the forest. "Alright, head out, but be back in an hour or two the latest. We'll set up camp for when you get back."

With that, his pokémon were quick to disappear into the woods, hoping to bring back positive news. Articuno was quick to head into the air to continue scouting from above; using the snowy mountaintop, as well as her mist, she was able to disguise herself well into the sky.

"Well, its just the two of us now Pikachu, we might as well get a fire started. It'll get dark pretty soon."

"Pika," he nodded and followed his trainer into the green portion of the woods, in search of some firewood.

After a couple of minutes, the two returned to the campsite and set up the fire. It wasn't until Ash leaned against a tree near the fire that he realized just how exhausted he really was. He didn't normally use his aura unless in the extreme case he needed to better his senses, but to use it for healing was something he only just started to learn. Because of that, the fatigue was starting to overwhelm him. The sun was just beginning to set on the horizon, and the boy's eyes were slowly following the trajectory of the fiery light, until they were completely closed.

"Just… wake me up in 10 minutes buddy," he barely got out. Pikachu gave his trainer a sympathetic smile and went on guard duty, heightening his senses to make sure they were safe.

Unfortunately for Ash, the moment he drifted into sleep, the nightmares followed shortly after.

He was in a dark room, unable to see much of his surroundings. There were a couple of low sharp noises around him similar to chains moving against a hard surface. Although he couldn't see anything, he could feel a powerful presence in the room with him. Ash tried to focus his eyes on any one feature but the darkness was blinding. Besides the chains, there weren't any other noises that stood out, until he finally heard it: the same voice that was unconsciously troubling him the past couple of days. Seemingly every time Ash closed his eyes, he heard the deep and resonating voice of Ho-Oh as he menacingly stared into the deepest parts of his soul. The pure fiery hatred present in those colored eyes were enough to run a shiver through any one's body.

The worst part of it all was that whenever he heard the voice, it spoke directly to him, as if only he could hear it. This time the voice said one simple word.

" _Choose_."

Almost in a mocking tone, the voice repeated in his head: choose. He couldn't make out any of the figures in the room, but by the nature of the word, he understood he was being forced to make a decision that pleased the legendary sky pokémon. Suddenly, there was a small breeze that swept through the dark room and brought a recognizable scent in his direction. It was the sweet smell of light strawberry shampoo with a tinge of vanilla. He remembered a couple of nights ago, when the smell was directly in front of him as he laid his head on the shoulder of his best friend.

"May? May is that you?"

There was no response, only the quiet sound of chains still sliding across the hard floor. He was beginning to get desperate, unable to see his surroundings. The young boy tried to move from where he was; only to find out that the chains he heard were his own. He had shackles on his legs and wrists and was completely immobilized.

"Show yourself Ho-Oh! You coward!"

" _In due time young guardian, in due time."_ The voice answered the young trainer.

Before he could answer back, he was hit by the familiar scent once again. This time, it woke him out of his trance. He was awake and slightly panting from the dream he just had.

"W-wha… Pikachu, I thought I told you." He stopped when he realize the fire was put out and his pokémon were nowhere to be found. "Pikachu! Where are you?"

Before the boy could turn around, he was swiftly knocked unconscious by a blow to the head. The last thing he could remember was being dragged by the legs along the cold snow, he faintly recognized his captor before falling completely unconscious.

"P.. Paul…"

* * *

 **Dundundunnnn! Well I hope you guys enjoyed.  
**

 **Quick question. Do you guys feel I'm focusing too much on certain characters, for example Melody? I promise you the story is centralized on Ash and then May. So please do let me know what you guys think. I just like giving every character moments to shine and play important roles in the story. If you feel a certain way about how I've handled it, feel free to leave a review or PM me!**

 **Well enough of that,**

 **Thank you for reading! Next chapter will most likely be out by the middle of next week.**

 **-HRS**


	13. Small Notice

**I hope you all can overcome the initial disappointment of not having a new chapter posted enough to finish reading this small notice!**

 **I am writing this small note mostly to inform readers that I will NOT be abandoning the story.**

 **There have been a lot of recent changes and events that have kept me away from finishing this story I've worked so hard on.**

 **However, I can assure you that I have not forgotten it, nor do I plan to.**

 **I'm happy to inform that I just finished rereading the story so far in order to get a general refresher that will allow me to continue the story pronto!**

 **My plan is to have chapter 13 out by this Sunday coming up. I have already begun writing so you may expect it sooner.**

 **Nonetheless, I appreciate the patience and all of you who have faithfully been waiting on an update for the story.**

 **Chapter 13 will be posted soon, you have my word!**

 **After that, I should establish a more constant schedule for uploading, so stay tuned for that as well.**

 **I'd also love to hear from any of you that are still around and reading the story in order to gauge the amount of people still interested.**

 **Thanks again! See you all this week,**

 **HRS**


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